Sekera - Schultz Second Pairing

[Comic Book Guy*]

The reason the Oilers needs one more top-4 defenseman is because it gives the the luxury of of shifting Sekera down to the second pair as a means of insulating Justin Schultz.

Andrej Sekera had a 40+ season playing with another Justin - Justin Faulk.

Could the Sekera - Schultz duo work as well as the Sekera - Faulk team? I hope so. Sekera seems to do well when paired with offensively gifted defensemen.

Click to read more...

 

[McOvechking]

I agree - Schultz will flourish under Sekera. If we can pry Seabrook out of Chicago, our defense looks perfect:

Klefbom - Seabrook
Sekera - Schultz
Reinhart - Fayne

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

I agree - Schultz will flourish under Sekera. If we can pry Seabrook out of Chicago, our defense looks perfect:

Klefbom - Seabrook
Sekera - Schultz
Reinhart - Fayne

even just watching sekera will help.

He is supposedly very very good at closing gaps when defending. If that can transfer to any of our D that would be great.

I hope he is better than Petry....I would assume so.....at the very least I think he will be a more aggressive defender in both zones......

that decision making could also stand to wear off on schultz.

 

[Topkatz]

The reason the Oilers needs one more top-4 defenseman is because it gives the the luxury of of shifting Sekera down to the second pair as a means of insulating Justin Schultz.

Andrej Sekera had a 40+ season playing with another Justin - Justin Faulk.

Could the Sekera - Schultz duo work as well as the Sekera - Faulk team? I hope so. Sekera seems to do well when paired with offensively gifted defensemen.

I read the opposite from fans of teams he had played for who said he works best with a defensively minded D-man with him like Fayne. Faulk is good at defence whereas Schultz is bad at it so I would rather have that pairing be a reliable minute munching one rather than risky.

 

[Spawn]

If Sekera-Schultz are the second pairng. Even if we get one more top 4 d-man who the heck is the first pairing?

I sincerely hope that people don't think Klefbom can handle that.

 

[Took a pill in Sbisa]

If Sekera-Schultz are the second pairng. Even if we get one more top 4 d-man who the heck is the first pairing?

I sincerely hope that people don't think Klefbom can handle that.

People think Klefbom = Brodin

All we need now is Ryan Suter

 

[ivanthebad*]

If Sekera-Schultz are the second pairng. Even if we get one more top 4 d-man who the heck is the first pairing?

I sincerely hope that people don't think Klefbom can handle that.

It's not about can but more about should. Sekera can handle top minutes for a stretch, therefore he should. Klef needs to catch his breath. Some easier minutes will only help him and slingshot his development. He needs to study and learn the game from a point not so chaotic. I really see Klef as our Seabrook in 3 years, a top 2 player who dominates a top 4 position. Hopefully Nurse becomes our #1

Sekera-Fayne
Klef-

 

[McDNicks17]

I think Schultz will be fine with Klefbom on the 2nd pairing.

Their advanced stats together last season were actually really solid.

I can't see them getting worse with Sekera bumping them down a pairing, having another year of development and having a real coach.


Schultz might actually help Klefbom too. Klefbom spent 400 minutes away from Schultz last season and basically had the worst advanced stats of any player in the league during that time.

 

[harpoon]

I sincerely hope that people don't think Klefbom can handle that.

It seems like there are many posters that do.
Sometimes I think I must have been watching different games cause I agree with you. No way in hell is Klefbom ready for first pair minutes.

 

[LTIR]

It seems like there are many posters that do.
Sometimes I think I must have been watching different games cause I agree with you. No way in hell is Klefbom ready for first pair minutes.

Except the fact that he was already playing first pairing minutes last year. Playing the minutes wont be an issue.. He just needs a solid D partner to get his +\- up to par.

 

[Spawn]

Except the fact that he was already playing first pairing minutes last year. Playing the minutes wont be an issue.. He just needs a solid D partner to get his +\- up to par.

He was playing the minutes and drowning. We'd need a top 10 d-man in the league to be able to have Klefbom not get owned on a top pairing. Klefbom was not a player that had a positive impact last season. He was not good defensively, and that isn't just because he was partnered with Schultz. It was because he was a 20 year old that in no way was suited for the type of responsibility he was asked to shoulder.

 

[McDNicks17]

Except the fact that he was already playing first pairing minutes last year. Playing the minutes wont be an issue.. He just needs a solid D partner to get his +\- up to par.

He and Schultz weren't playing tough minutes as the "top pair" though. They took 80% of their 5v5 faceoffs in the neutral or offensive zones.

Klefbom and Schultz were -5 in 726 minutes together.

Klefbom was -16 in 400 minutes away from Schultz. Most of that was in a shutdown role with Fayne.


He excelled in a sheltered offensive role and was beyond terrible in a shutdown role. There's really no indication of him being able to handle true top pairing minutes yet.

 

[LTIR]

Well the Oilers cant possibly be adding another LHD unless Klefbom and/or Nurse is going the other way.
If Sekera is on the 2nd pairing one of Schultz or Klefbom will have to be one the first.

Klefbom IMO ends up playing the toughest 5on5 mins with minimal special teams mins.
Gryba/Reinhart get PK mins and Schultz/Sekera get PP mins

 

[McOilbleeder]

I think Schultz will be fine with Klefbom on the 2nd pairing.

Their advanced stats together last season were actually really solid.

I can't see them getting worse with Sekera bumping them down a pairing, having another year of development and having a real coach.


Schultz might actually help Klefbom too. Klefbom spent 400 minutes away from Schultz last season and basically had the worst advanced stats of any player in the league during that time.

Didn't Klefbom-Schultz have a ton of easy minutes?

If we assume Sekera-Fayne will handle the tough minutes, the question becomes who plays the 2nd pairing minutes. Either Ference-Gryba can raise their game to become more than 3rd pairing guys, or we're expanding Klefbom-Schultz's role from last season in terms of zone starts and quality of competition.

 

[bucks_oil]

He and Schultz weren't playing tough minutes as the "top pair" though. They took 80% of their 5v5 faceoffs in the neutral or offensive zones.

Klefbom and Schultz were -5 in 726 minutes together.

Klefbom was -16 in 400 minutes away from Schultz. Most of that was in a shutdown role with Fayne.


He excelled in a sheltered offensive role and was beyond terrible in a shutdown role. There's really no indication of him being able to handle true top pairing minutes yet.

Hmm... that's quite interesting.

So could it be that we run offense as a priority on an atypical "first pairing" and run a shutdown pair to eat the tough minutes...? That appears to be the horses we have right now.

Klefbom - Schultz... 15mins ES + 6mins pp... if we can get 70 points out of this pair at -5 on the season, that'd be pretty good.
Sekera - Fayne... ES minute munching, shutdown role with Sekera moving the puck out and contributing 30points
Reinhart - Gryba... crease clearing PKers. Limited ES time.

Nurse... aging like fine wine in the AHL.

This might be what we are stuck with in this development year. Expect an up tempo, outscore the opposition gameplan so that i) the kids get back to playing their game and ii) so the Yaks and Schultz of the world get points, to make them more valuable in trade next summer (or through the season) for guys that round out our lack of two-way, vet reliability.

If Talbot is as advertised, I think we'll flirt with the playoffs, and miss. In the meantime, the stink will be off the team, and we can parlay some assets to round out a winner.

 

[Beerfish]

Klefbom is being so overrated on here at this point in time it is ridiculous.

 

[jsho]

Klefbom is being so overrated on here at this point in time it is ridiculous.

Rewind 2 years and Schultz had that honor.

The reality is Sekera is our most experienced, and best defenceman on the team right now. Period. He has around 170 games more than Fayne and 300-400 over almost everyone else on the defence. He will be getting the most minutes.

Schultz struggled huge last year and played the most minutes in the back end. Dropping him to a 2nd pairing to start the year is what's needed for him and he needs less ice time.

Personally I think pairing Schultz and Klefbom is a terrible idea to execute at the start of the year. Klefbom needs to build on his strong first year and Schultz needs to find his game. We don't want Klefboms hopeful continuing success to hinge on whether or not Schultz can resurrect his game.

 

[Soundwave]

This is misinterpreting what Chiarelli said. He was saying on a high end team, Sekera would be a second pairing guy (think Hjlarmarsson). But he said definitely Sekera can be a top pairing D also.

 

[McGoMcD]

I still like

Sekara-Fayne
Klef-Schultz
Ference-Gryba
Nurse-Reinhart

With the real chance you could switch Nurse and Rienhart into the lineup. I really think boht win jobs out of camp, but we can wait and see.

 

[Psychoil]

Klefbom really is being overrated on here. Look I like him alot, but he still needs to work on alot. There were some nights where he wasn't very good. I'm hopefuly he can be a top 4 D, but there still needs work to be done

 

[BleedingOil]

I read the opposite from fans of teams he had played for who said he works best with a defensively minded D-man with him like Fayne. Faulk is good at defence whereas Schultz is bad at it so I would rather have that pairing be a reliable minute munching one rather than risky.

Faulk is good but Schultz is bad? There isn't much difference between these guys in the defensive zone

 

[Aerchon]

Klefbom really is being overrated on here. Look I like him alot, but he still needs to work on alot. There were some nights where he wasn't very good. I'm hopefuly he can be a top 4 D, but there still needs work to be done

Very much so. I like Klefbom a lot too and just because I don't think he is a top 4 NHL playoff worthy d-man yet... Everyone assumes I hate him.

Neither Klefbom or Schultz should be in our top pairing next year and also should not be put together.

Meaning one should be on the bottom and one on the middle.

Barring a massive leap in defensive awareness by either or mysteriously picking up a guy like Duncan Kieth or Drew Doughty.

Even Seabrook should not be forced to cover for those guys and be expected to succeed in a top pairing role.

 

[McGoMcD]

Klefbom really is being overrated on here. Look I like him alot, but he still needs to work on alot. There were some nights where he wasn't very good. I'm hopefuly he can be a top 4 D, but there still needs work to be done

He is being over rated a bit. He isn't a top paring guy yet, but I think he has earned being a top 4 guy who plays 20 mins a night. He has already shown he doens't need to be sheltered and play bottom minutes. I agree though, he hasn't proven he can play 25 mins a night against the toughest comp.

 

[Replacement*]

Faulk is good but Schultz is bad? There isn't much difference between these guys in the defensive zone

I would expect there is. Faulk is better offensively, defensively, and in every capacity than Schultz. He's also stronger.

Faulk also threw 157 hits last year. Schultz 40. Faulk had 70 TKA, Schultz 20

Faulk is a full 2 years younger and THRIVING in the NHL.


The boxcars and path look anything but similar.

A tandem of Sekera and Schultz have less hits and TKA combined than Faulk had himself last season. I wonder what a pair like Sekera-Schultz would do in WC and how they would fare WITHOUT the puck. Theres plenty of talent WITH the puck but you need a pairing with more balance.

 

[Spawn]

I would expect there is. Faulk is better offensively, defensively, and in every capacity than Schultz. He's also stronger.

Faulk also threw 157 hits last year. Schultz 40. Faulk had 70 TKA, Schultz 20

Faulk is a full 2 years younger and THRIVING in the NHL.


The boxcars and path look anything but similar.

A tandem of Sekera and Schultz have less hits and TKA combined than Faulk had himself last season. I wonder what a pair like Sekera-Schultz would do in WC and how they would fare WITHOUT the puck. Theres plenty of talent WITH the puck but you need a pairing with more balance.

No doubt. Faulk is a far better player than Schultz. And I'm a decent Schultz fan. But we're talking about one of the top end young defensemen in the league versus a guy who is still struggling to find his path in the league.

Although Sekera - Faulk was a top pairing, and the OP is suggesting that Sekera - Schultz would be the second pairing. I think it would actually be quite a good second pairing. But we don't have the horses for two d-men to play ahead of them. I don't mind the Klefbom-Schultz pairing either. But even then, we still are lacking another person to play with Sekera ahead of them. Fayne doesn't do it for me.