I agree with others that the wingers on this team should be a bigger concern than the defense.
I think we all know that as a whole the defense does struggle to move/transition the puck.
I think Nurse has emerged as a pretty solid defenseman. Hes put up some decent offensive numbers, and while I think they are inflated a bit, hes still put them up and you have to give him credit for that. Hes an incredible skater and has the ability to lug the puck out of the defending zone. I do think he struggles with passing/transitioning the puck to the forwards though. One thing that he also has going for him is that he is durable, he doesnt seem to get injured often. I do think he struggles a bit making the correct play at times but all in all I see him as an importance piece moving forward and one that they should build around.
I think Klefbom is a good defenseman. I think he has more natural offensive instincts than the majority of the Oilers defense and does everything fairly well. Good shot, good passing, good vision but doesnt excel overly at anything. I do think the struggles a bit as well at transitioning the puck but I would say he is one of the better Oilers dman at it. One of the concerns with Klefbom is his inability to stay healthy. The Oilers defense is much better when hes in the lineup and he is on a pretty good contract considering what he brings.
Larsson has really struggled this year. I have generally liked what I have seen from him in the past but this hasnt been a good year for him. I am not sure if hes hurt, maybe still dealing with personal stuff or hes just lost a step. Prior to this year, he has easily been the Oilers best defenseman to break up the cycle. Whatever the reasons for this year are, at the end of the day he hasnt had a good year. Hes another defenseman that struggles to transition the puck but he will make a great play every once in a while. I think you have to hope he bounces back because this team is light on the right side, so I am not sure what choice they really have.
I thought Russell was really good to start the year but has fallen a bit back to normal lately. Considering the way he plays, I find it amazing that hes as durable as he is. The one thing with him, is that he gives a consistent effort, you know what you will get out of him every night. I think he has some value that he can play both sides and to be fair a lot of times he is playing on his off side which is harder to do, and he may look better on his natural side. I think he is a pretty decent 3rd pairing defenseman but I think he struggles to play in the top 4 (I dont think him and Nurse mesh that well). I think he really struggles with puck transition and overall he just spends too much of his time on the ice defending (moreso when hes in the top 4).
Sekera has bounced back better than I thought. I really thought he would struggle, and while hes not his old self he is much better than I was anticipating. Sekera makes so many smart plays, and I think hes one of the better puck transitioners on this team. I think the Oilers have really missed what he brought a couple years ago. His injury status really scares me combined with his cap hit on this team. The way he has played lately may give the team the opportunity to move out his contract if needed. The question is whether or not they should, on a team that really lacks the ability to transition the puck.
Benning plus/minus actually surprises me a bit. I think it shows that hes a serviceable defenseman but I think he needs to play on the third pairing with another competent defender (like Russell or Sekera) because he doesnt carry the pairing in my viewings. I think Benning actually has a pretty good head for the game, I just think he really lacks the tools. Not a great skater or passer. Does everything at an ok level but nothing really at a good level. At one point I thought he might have top 4 potential, but I think hes a bottom pairing dman at this point and is not going to improve much.
I think at this point, there has to be some concern about the right side of the defense. I am not sure that Larsson can prop it up. I dont think Russell is good enough to work as a middle RD. I personally think we probably have too many LD. I think we could probably move out one of Russell or Sekera as a minimum and use the cap space on a RD or a winger. I personally also think that Jones could be the third pairing LD next year. With Klefbom's injury history, it does add some risk of trading both Sekera and Russell away. I also wonder if its best to move on from Benning considering Bear and Bouchard, as I think they will overtake Benning at some point, but maybe not by next year. Theres probably some advantage to leaving Bouchard in the AHL for a year unless he blows off peoples socks next training camp.
I am pretty excited about some of our defensive prospects. I think Jones, Bouchard, Bear, Samurokov, Laggesson, Persson, etc could make some waves. We may be better off just riding our defense until some of our young guys can step in.
