The Oilers Defensive Group

On Monday, Edmonton dealt D Jeff Petry to Montreal for two 2015 NHL entry draft picks. The move signaled more change on Edmonton’s blue-line, which hasn’t been overly strong since 2006, also the last time Edmonton made it to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Oilers don’t have a Chris Pronger, heck they don’t even have a Jason Smith or a Steve Staios currently. Right now, the Oilers have one NHL top-four defender, and his name is Mark Fayne. Fayne is a solid shut-down defender who can play against tough opponents, but he is likely a second-pairing option on a good team, not a number one like he now is.

Now, there are two other solid pieces too. D Oscar Klefbom has been really good under Todd Nelson, emerging as a solid and reliable blue-liner. He’s got great skating ability, decent size, solid offensive ability, and a knack for shutting down the opposition. He’ll be a legit top-four guy, but he’s still in his early days as an option for Edmonton.

Justin Schultz has also started showing improvement too. He’s starting to look like a real NHL defender, and has found some chemistry with Klefbom. If this unit is playing big minutes against middling opponents with solid offensive zone starts, they’ll be fine. Schultz is a solid offensive defender when put in the right spot.

That still leaves three spots open. What happens?

MacT Likes Two Others Though!!!:

Sadly, you might be right. Craig MacTavish gave a vote of confidence to D’s Nikita Nikitin and Andrew Ference on Monday at his post-deadline press conference. MacTavish called Nikitin a legit NHL top-four defender, and admitted that he is counting on these two for next season.

MacT did admit that Nikitin wasn’t ready for this season, and that conditioning was an issue, but MacT quickly gave Nikitin a vote of confidence, saying that he felt he was playing really well before his injury.

MacTavish ended the segment by saying he was confident with Fayne, Klefbom, Schultz, Nikitin and Ference coming back next season. Needless to say I, and many other smart Oiler fans, do not agree with this sentiment.

Personally, I think MacT is full of BS here. I do believe Fayne, Klefbom and Schultz will be back, but I’d be stunned if both of Ference and Nikitin returned.

Edmonton has acknowledged the need for help on defense, and I doubt that they ignore that this off-season. I’ll say one of Ference or Nikitin will be bought out, and I’d put my money on the Russian being shown the door in early June.

Just my two cents, but I think MacT was just pumping a little confidence into his group. I’m not a MacT guy, but I also don’t think he is stupid. He won’t bring five guys from this group of defenders back.

An Addition?:

Ryan Rishaug of TSN was on TSN1260 on Monday afternoon talking about the potential for the rest of the afternoon, and he had an interesting quote, saying something along the lines of Edmonton potentially digging into the free agent pool this summer for a top-pairing defender. While saying that, Rishaug mentioned that the name likely won’t be a surprise.

My interpretation, and it could be completely wrong, is that Rishaug was hinting at Islanders D Johnny Boychuk. The interest is there from Edmonton, they looked at trading for him this past summer according to CSNNE’s Joe Haggerty (via Edmonton Journal). On top of that, Larry Brooks of the New York Post hinted that many believe Boychuk could sign with his hometown Oilers this summer.

The contract would be large, likely starting in the six million a year range per Brooks, but it seems like a real Oilers move. Boychuk is a typical Edmonton defender, currently in the middle of his prime. He’s physical, very solid defensively, decent offensively, and possesses a bomb of a shot. He’s exactly what the Oil would want. Not to mention, he’s a right handed shot and likely an upgrade on the recently departed Jeff Petry.

I said it within the last month, I believe Edmonton has their defensive plan set, and I truly believe they envision Johnny Boychuk as a part of that. I could very well be wrong, but this is what I’m starting to truly believe.

By the looks of it, a defense with the following depth chart could be Edmonton’s in 2015-16:

Marincin-Boychuk

Klefbom-Schultz

Nikitin/Ference-Fayne

I’d hope for a second addition, one on the left-side, but this is what I envision for next season. Is it good enough? I think a lot depends on the development of Klefbom/Schultz, but I don’t think it is good enough. MacTavish will need to get someone else to play on this blue-line to even sniff improvement in 2015-16.

The blue-line has been an area of weakness for years in Edmonton, and on Monday it got weaker. How will Edmonton’s defense shape up moving into next training camp, this is my best bet, but who knows. Craig MacTavish’s, and the Oilers’, future will likely be determined with how this massive hole if filled within the coming months.

Buckle up friends.