Yesterday, Edmonton Oilers play-by-play colorman Bob Stauffer put out the following tweet with regards to the club’s potential candidates for its 7th defenceman position,
Bouchard finished the game with 1-2-3 and now has 4-7-11 in 16GP for Sodertalje.
Shaping up as a battle between Bouchard and William Lagesson for the #7 D spot with the Oilers. https://t.co/mVIz6vGr2z— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) November 8, 2020
Now, am I the only one that thinks this “battle” for #7 is being media driven? I mean, ask yourself, if you’re the GM of a club and you have one of your best prospects bubbling under; would you want him winning the press box spot on the club or do you think it would be best of he was earning a spot as the 5th or 6th d-man?
It makes no sense to me why the Oilers under Ken Holland would want Bouchard in Edmonton playing sparingly as opposed to getting big minutes for their AHL affiliate and working on his deficiences at that level.
William Lagesson has pretty much done all he can in the divisions below the NHL and it’s time for him to be given an opportunity. Signing him to that two-year deal also made him available to be selected in the Seattle Kraken expansion draft. Although, I don’t think they’ll take him. I figure there’ll be better options from Edmonton.
Two other points on this,
- Lagesson is not exempt from waivers anymore whereas Bouchard is.
- Stauffer is also constantly talking about the Oilers adding another veteran defenceman with experience.
I’m not fully convinced that Holland won’t use Bouchard in a trade either as Edmonton STILL does not have a no.1 defenceman on its team.
Could that come though in the form of Philip Broberg? It might, which brings me to the next topic, what happens if the Oilers graduate Broberg, Bouchard (granted he’s still with the team), and Dmitri Samorukov around the same time?
Could you imagine all three starting the clocks on their ELCs and having them expire in the same off-season? Wouldn’t that be some kind of RFA re-signing Hell akin to what Tampa is going through whilst having Anthony Cirelli, Mikhail Sergachev, and Erik Cernak all out of contract and vulnerable to an offer-sheet and not being able to move a roster player in order to sign them.
We know that offer-sheets aren’t common and with the financial landscape of the league looking as bleak as it is, their even more less likely to occur. Unless… In the next three years, fans are allowed to fill arenas to full capacity resulting in a landslide of revenue for the NHL, its clubs, and its players. The salary cap would sky rocket and irresponsible spending would be back! Hooray (kind of)!
Could the Oilers avoid a massive headache by introducing Broberg this year, Bouchard in 2021-22, and Samorukov the year following?
What’s your time frame look like for these three defenders? Let me know in the comments below!
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