Real, Real Gone

I had Travis Dermott No. 29 on my final draft list in 2015; mentioned his puck moving ability and called him “a gem” on draft day. We saw Dermott good last night, amidst some wobble by the Oilers on the defensive side of the puck. He should be signed today, but management sometimes gets stubborn on things. No matter. Based on what we’re viewing, Dermott and Ben Gleason could hit 50 NHL games each this season. The Oilers, defensively, are bringing glee and giggles to NHL rinks across North America right now. We’re about to see just how smart Stan Bowman is when under pressure. His defense is cracking, what is he going to do about it?

Let’s talk

I think the smart play for the Oilers is to run their six best defensemen and avoid the urge to make a big, season defining acquisition on the blue. That’s the deadline move, unless Artem Zub suddenly comes available. The key is actually running the six best defenders, and I do think Dermott is one of them and Gleason isn’t far behind. We’ll see.

If the Oilers start the season with Ekholm-Bouchard, Nurse-Emberson and Kulak-Brown, and we see the wrong reads and walkabouts that were on display last night, it won’t be long before Dermott (if he’s signed), Gleason and possibly Phil Kemp are in the rotation. The absence of alternatives clears the mind.

How did we get here? Well, Jeff Jackson and his group hammered free agency with astute signings at all three forward positions. The bet on blue was Philip Broberg, so worrying about defense was something of a distant bell. A top-six of Ekholm-Bouchard, Nurse-Broberg and Kulak-Ceci isn’t exactly the 1977 Montreal Canadiens defense, but that would have gotten you to the deadline.

What should Bowman do? In the words of Blossom in the Powerpuff Girls movie, nothing! The die is cast. Bowman has to hope the offense can outscore the defensive wobble and that Stuart Skinner steals some games. Kris Knoblauch needs to run the living hell out of Ekholm-Bouchard and hope Nurse-Emberson works. Knoblauch put himself in good position during the preseason by playing Nurse with Emberson in every possible game, so the coach has a significant track record to review and give him hope for the year to come. I haven’t seen such a brilliant coaching strategy by a young coach since Dallas Eakins took exactly one forever to figure out who the hell he was playing in NHL regular season games a decade ago.

I thought Ekholm, Bouchard, Nurse and Dermott played well last night. I won’t quote the numbers because Olivier Rodrigue had a poor night so things are skewed blue for the blue. I will say Nurse-Dermott getting 67 percent of the expected goal share is encouraging. I’d sign Dermott today and name him the No. 7 defenseman.

Is that fair to Josh Brown? No. Brown brings a physical element and limited defensive acumen, so his performance so far this fall (he owns a 40 percent expected goal share) isn’t fab but if you were expecting Nick Lidstrom that’s on you. It’s also true that a player like Brown is better stepping in to a structured defensive group, and the Oilers ain’t it. Further, people are romanticizing Vincent Desharnais’ performance as an Oiler and that doesn’t help. Desharnais owned a 40 percent expected goal share one year ago, same as Brown today.

What should the Oilers do with Brown? Knoblauch should ignore those yelling that the key to the season is protecting the rugged soul of the team. He should eschew any notion of playing men who are not his six best defenders, beginning on opening night and going all season. It’s madness to worship at the alter of moar big when what you really need is faster horses and better reads. No disrespect to Brown, but he would be far better off with a team that played a button down style with forwards who closely resemble Patrik Elias in his prime.

The Oilers, like the French in World War 2, are about to point their cannons in the wrong direction. It happens.

When we talk about the rugged soul of the Oilers, it’s really about protecting Connor McDavid. Two things. First, it’s impossible. Bobby Orr lost a decade of his career to men like Pat Quinn and Bill Barber and the NHL didn’t blink an eye. Scott Stevens impacted Eric Lindros, Paul Kariya and many others with outrageous hits that altered careers.

We are in a more humane period for hockey, and it’s likely McDavid’s generation will lead normal lives after playing careers end. Have you ever seen a veteran NHL player from the 1970’s walk into a room? You can hear him before you can see him! The NHL is a vicious game. It just is. You can’t police the game completely and McDavid is going to be a target this fall, winter and spring. The only way to avoid it is use him only on power plays. Not going to happen.

Second point. McDavid decided long ago the NHL wasn’t going to call the game straight up, so he took the initiative and began cross checking, slashing, hooking, knocking players over, et cetera. Leon Draisaitl is a true bully. It’s rare to see an NHL player exact a price for sins real or imagined so often. When Leon retires from hockey, all outstanding invoices will have been paid in full, and then some. If you’re worried about McDavid and Draisaitl, I get it. You can’t wrap them in bubble and you can’t compromise your roster in the name of the sacred bleeding Jesus heart of the rugged soul of the ‘these assholes are being mean to my boy’ brigade. NO. ONE. IS. LISTENING.

So, Oilers management and coaching have to decide if they want to win the Stanley Cup or play men who are devoted to keeping the sacred heart of the rugged soul of Oilers physical hockey at Curt Brackenbury levels. It’s a simple choice. The Oilers can make the other team bleed.

All it costs is goals.

We have a busy show today, Sports 1440 beginning at noon. We’ll be joined by Bagged Milk from Oilers Nation to talk about the loss in Seattle last night and the defense moving forward. We’ll also talk Tre Ford and his future with the Elks, and discuss the Toronto Blue jays celebrating mediocrity. I’m at Lowetide on twitter, in the comments section here and on the Sports 1440 text line at 1.833.401.1440 directly.