I read a tweet earlier this week from Joe Smith of The Athletic that mentioned the Lightning were shopping defensemen Slater Koekkoek and Braydon Coburn and what got me thinking is that Russell is already banged up and Larsson is being held out of the Cologne game due to back soreness.
Hearing #tblightning is open to moving Koekkoek or Coburn. They’ve been calling other teams. One week until season opener, so should be interesting. The fact Cernak opened some eyes in camp gives TB another option.
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) September 30, 2018
The health of the Oilers defence is of the utmost importance not only to their playoff chances but the health of the development paths of Evan Bouchard and Ethan Bear. As Oilers fans, we’ve seen all too many times the Oilers throwing young defenders into the fire and it really hampering that player’s development.
I could see the Oilers having interest in both players (Koekkoek and Coburn) and when Coburn was a Flyer the Oilers had major interest in him before he was dealt to Tampa. Of course, he’s slowed right the F down since then but if the Oilers are looking for a player that can fill in on the 2nd pairing and handle the toughs alongside Darnell Nurse.
If you’re one who leans towards the statistics, Coburn non-relative statistics having him treading water. His CF% (49.21) is very comparable to players like Ryan Suter and John Carlson. His FF% (48.99) compares well with players like Cam Fowler and Aaron Ekblad. His SF% (48.38) has him in a similar block to Matt Niskanen and Erik Johnson. And finally, his GF% (51.32) slots him in with the likes of Mark Giordano and Tyler Myers.
Not all of those stats tell us if he’s THAT great of a defender, just that last season amongst dmen playing 900 minutes 5×5, he’s comparable to those other players. Is he as good as Ryan Suter, of course not. Of all the comps I slated out for you, Coburn is not near the player they are but for whatever the reason, the numbers tell us they compare in those individual numbers. I’d imagine that’s due to Tampa being so well and Coburn playing 3rd-pairing minutes against 3rd/4th line opposition.
That said, I don’t think he was being sheltered. He started most of his shifts in the defensive zone about 58% of the time.
But if we were to take his relative stats which tell us how he was relative to his teammates, they shine a brighter light on his defensive skills.
SA/60: -.84 (53/149 dmen)
GA/60: -.04 (71/149 dmen)
FA/60: -1.12 (52/149 dmen)
CA/60: -1.01 (59/149 dmen)
HDCA/60: -.13 (61/149 dmen)
I picked those numbers because they tell us a bit more about his defence. Not everything of course and if I were to really dig in I’d look at him and see how he helps the offence. How well does he help the team score goals? But I don’t see Braydon Coburn in that shade at all. To me, he’s strictly a defensive defenseman, much like Adam Larsson, and that’s where I place the value.
Coburn makes $3.7M dollars this season and has an NMC in his deal. Both could be problematic unless Tampa would agree to eat some of that (like half) and waive the right to play for a Stanley Cup contender. The Oilers probably would need to send a contract over as well as we have to remember that Andrej Sekera will be back this season and his $5.5M will come back on to the books.
I like Coburn because he’s a throwback player but I don’t necessarily see him as a fit for the Oilers apart from their obsession with left-handed defenders and Coburn being a veteran on an expiring deal. They’re better off signing Garrison, no? He’s cheaper and probably hungrier and he’s got a bit more in his skill set than being a defensive defender with that shot of his.
But then again, when the going gets tough in the playoffs, you need the soldiers out there who are ready to make the necessary sacrifices.
As for Slater Koekkoek, he’s also left-handed but he’s 24 years old and hasn’t cemented his place in the NHL yet. There are a lot of question marks about his health (still) and spending 35 games in the press box last season is no way to announce to the league that you’re a valuable asset that can contribute in an impactful manner.
Carr Shopping
I got a message in my DMs that the Oilers are looking at claiming Daniel Carr. Now, I don’t know how reliable the person is that slid into me DMs to send that message but I’ll run with it not because it’s a bonified rumor but because I LOVE DANIEL CARR!
He’s local, he’s gritty, he plays the game the right way, he’s a water bug that’ll be a pain in the ass for the opposition, and he scores goals!
Last season Carr was up and down with the Habs. He scored 6 goals and 10 apples in 38 games with Montreal and 11 goals with 8 assists in 20 games for their farm club in Laval.
His GF%/60 (9.14) was right up there with Jordan Eberle’s and he played on a much worse team than the former Oiler with worse linemates…
He signed a deal with Vegas this summer for one year worth 750k. I guess George McPhee saw him as surplus to requirement after camp but if I were the Oilers I’d find a way to move Caggiula and get Carr in.
What are your thoughts on today’s rumblings? Let us know in the comments below!
