Edmonton Oilers Defense: Opening Night Starters

It was just over nine years ago that the Edmonton Oilers made their fabled run to game seven of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals. That offseason, the story turned from comedy to tragedy when star defenseman, Chris Pronger, requested a trade for personal reasons. While the Oilers obtained some great assets in return, this was an enormous blow to the Oilers defense and was key to the team’s unraveling.

After nearly a decade of struggling on the backend, the Oilers are finally facing the good kind of problem: more defensemen than spots on the roster. Despite the lack of a top #1 NHL defenseman, the Oilers have a glut of promising young talent and a handful of veterans. This will make for a competitive training camp/preseason, and will give GM Peter Chiarelli and Head Coach Todd McLellan a variety of considerations.

Oilers Defense: The NHLers

At the moment, the Oilers have seven proven NHL defenseman and I suspect that all of them will start this season. By bringing in an experienced coach with a good defensive record, we should expect the returning defensemen to rebound. There is little argument over projecting the top four as some combination of Andrej Sekera, Mark Fayne, Oscar Klefbom and Justin Shultz. The subject gets a lot more interesting when projecting the bottom three or four.

”You have puck movers and those guys jumping up in the play, and Eric’s very capable of that, but his bread and butter is his tenacity and passion he brings night in, night out. To add that ingredient to our blueline is something we were looking for.” – Todd McLellan

At 27, Eric Gryba is coming into his prime as a defenseman, and both McLellan and Chiarelli see him in the mix. Last season, he was trusted to play in 75 games and averaged 15:39 TOI for the Senators, who were a better team with greater depth. His offense is limited to a good first pass, but he will intimidate, stick up for teammates and remove the free parking sign in front of the Edmonton Oilers’ net. He is 6’4 and 225 pounds and has averaged 2.55 hits/game and 1.13 PIM/game in his NHL career.

I see Gryba as an excellent upgrade to

on the third pairing this season. Coincidentally, here is some video of Gryba standing up to Keith Aulie last season:

This leaves the two most debated defensemen, Andrew Ference and Nikita Nikitin. It has been argued that Ference has been on the decline due to his age. At 36 years old he may be getting long in the tooth, but his dedication to fitness allowed him to average 18:52 TOI in 70 games last season. Further, he made a significant contribution in his role with 82 blocks and 156 hits. Finally, as captain he provided valuable

veteran leadership both on the ice and in the community

. Regardless, the Oilers are also handcuffed by his no-trade clause. I expect him to form a tough-as-nails third pairing with Gryba, handling defensive zone starts.

Most fans remember Nikita Nikitin’s play last season for moments better fit for a blooper reel than a highlight reel. His oversized contract with a $4.5 million cap hit made him a popular whipping boy too. To be fair, the entire team underperformed, and it is hard to blame Nikitin for his contract. He also struggled with injuries, which limited him to 42 games and impacted his play. Despite this, Nikitin averaged 19:38 TOI and he still does offer some useful qualities.

Nikitin has a big body at 6’4 and 217 pounds and has one of the team’s best shots from the point. If he can bring his physical play back up to 1.27 hits/game from last season’s low of 0.5 hits/game and maintains nearly 2 shots/game, we might see why Craig MacTavish eagerly traded for his rights last offseason. The Oilers do have another incentive to give Nikitin a chance. A rebound in performance would not only help the team, but make him a more attractive asset in a trade. Conversely, if cap space becomes an issue, burying Nikitin’s hefty contract in the minors would provide relief. My guess is that he will start in the NHL on a very short leash.

Oilers Defense: The Prospects

The Edmonton Oilers are finally in a situation where there is no need to rush prospects into NHL. That being said, there are three defensemen who look like they could make the jump to the NHL this season: Griffin Reinhart, Darnell Nurse and Brandon Davidson. As the season progresses they will have their chance, as we will probably see around a dozen defensemen play for the Oilers. By the time we hit the trade deadline, we will likely see a veteran replaced. Could any of these prospects START the season with the Oilers?

Yes, it is very possible that the Oilers will start the season with as many as eight defensemen. In my next blog post, I will compare these prospects and weigh their likelihood of making the starting roster.

Who do you think will start the season on the Oilers defense?