Everyone agreed coming into this off-season that the Oilers needed to add something significant to the blue-line. For a while, we thought that it would be Brayden Coburn coming to town. Some thought Dion Phaneuf might be a good option, and others speculated about Zach Bogosian. In the end? It was veteran free agent Andrew Ference that joined up with the Oilers.
When you mention the name Ference, Oilers fans will tell you it was a year too long and a little too much money, and that he was just a result of a great Boston team. They’ll also tell you that Zdeno Chara drove the play and that Ference was along for the ride, and that this move could very well be Cam Barker and Kurtis Foster 2.0.
That all being said, if you take some time to look into the stats and go a little bit in-depth, you’ll find out that everything I said above is pretty much false. So, just who is Andrew Ference?
He’s not the sexy name that Oilers fans wanted for the blue-line, but Andrew Ference brings something that this team hasn’t had for a while now, and that’s a legit NHL top-four veteran defender. This guy knows how to play the game, and will bring the calm and savvy presence that has been missing from Edmonton.
Ference was one of the most trusted defenders under Claude Julien in Boston and played in a lot of pressure situations for the team. He was a key cog to the 2011 cup win, and was a big piece of the team this year that went to game six against the Hawks. Ference found himself in a lot of big pressure situations, and was really good when called on by the Bruins.
Most people will tell you that he was riding the coat tails of Zdeno Chara, but that just isn’t true. Ference rarely played with Chara, and in fact his numbers were WORSE when playing with the big man! Chara usually saw duty with veteran Dennis Seidenberg, while Ference played with guys like Adam McQuaid, Johnny Boychuk and this past year, Dougie Hamilton. His under lying numbers? Pretty good.
He played a top four role in Boston and did it well, and to me that signifies that this is a guy that can easily handle 20 minutes and night on the ice and play at a high level. That’s a big improvement over players like Ryan Whitney, Cam Barker and Kurtis Foster, who filled the role before Ference.
He’s not an overly big player, standing in at 5’11” and 189 lbs, but he is one of the toughest guys in the game today. He ALWAYS stands up for his teammates and he loves to throw his body around. He’s one tough guy, don’t let his size fool you. Trust me, I’ve seen him live and he plays bigger than he really is. He’s got the heart and grit needed.
He’s a very smart hockey player, and has a great sense of where to be and what to do. He knows how to play in pretty much every situation, and he rarely makes a mistake that hurts the team. He’s a steady defender that just gets how to play. He’s a good skater too, and should easily be able to keep up with Edmonton’s up-tempo team.
He’s not an offensive player and won’t score a lot of goals. That being said, he wasn’t brought to Edmonton to be a goal scorer or a puck-mover. That’s what Jeff Petry, Justin Schultz, Anton Belov and most of the defenders are here for. Ference is here to be a steady defender, play a big role, and help Edmonton in their own zone. He’s going to do exactly that.
He’s your typical veteran stay-at-home defender. Think Steve Staios in the early-to-mid 2000’s, steady and reliable.
Ference saw a lot of time this year with young rookie Dougie Hamilton, and put up good numbers all around. It’s safe to say he can play with young guys and offensive guys, and I get the feeling the perfect spot for him is riding shot-gun on the second pairing with Justin Schultz.
Overall, Andrew Ference brings a good veteran presence to the locker room, and a calm, steady shut-down defender that can play a top-four role comfortably on the ice. That’s better than any Oilers blue-line signing in a solid five years, and improves the weakest area on the roster. For all the cons people talk about, there are a lot of pros to this move.
I’ll leave you with this, Andrew Ference’s best moments from his days in Boston from the eyes of a Bruins fan. If what I saw in this video and live out here over the years is any indication, we’re going to love Ference in Edmonton.
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