The Edmonton Oilers struggled to start their 2023-24 campaign. Coming into the new season, they had extremely high expectations and were considered favourites to win the Stanley Cup. While a slow start has them near the bottom of the Pacific Division as they attempt to climb their way back up, they still have a strong roster that shouldn’t be counted out just yet, even with their record looking severely underwhelming. One player who has been criticized heavily by many fans is defenseman Evan Bouchard, who seemed to be a strictly offensive defenseman with major defensive issues.
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The Oilers chose to fire former head coach Jay Woodcroft and former assistant coach Dave Manson after their atrocious start to the new season and replaced them with Kris Knoblauch, who had coached previously in the New York Rangers organization, and legendary Oilers defenseman Paul Coffey. Since the coaching change, the Oilers have looked like a brand-new team. While there didn’t seem to be any issues with Woodcroft’s style of coaching, it was clear he had lost touch with the players and it was time for a change.
Before Woodcroft was let go, Bouchard was known for his major defensive lapses but made up for it by exploding offensively to start the season and hasn’t slowed down a bit. His abilities with the puck on his stick are outstanding, but he just needed some work in his end. Coffey has seemingly made it his mission to help not just Bouchard, but all of the defensemen out, as they have all been playing better defensively since he got here. Bouchard specifically has stood out as the biggest improver, and fans are hoping he can continue being solid at both ends of the ice.
How Has Bouchard’s Improvement Impacted the Oilers?
Bouchard has been one of the offensive keys for the Oilers this season, producing the most points for a defenseman on the team as he currently leads the Oilers’ defenders in that stat. With him, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins playing well and putting up points, Bouchard was going to be relied upon to hopefully improve the only issue he had as a player, which was the major mistakes he would make that gave up goals, but those have been cut down since Coffey took over.
It has helped Bouchard immensely playing alongside Mattias Ekholm, who the Oilers acquired from the Nashville Predators last season, as his confidence has gone up and he doesn’t seem to always be putting pressure on himself like he has been for the past couple of seasons. With his defensive game being the focus of the new coaching staff, the Oilers have had fewer issues with him on the ice and have found themselves using him in more scenarios than they ever have because of Bouchard’s improvements.
The Oilers made it known they were interested in making Bouchard their future number-one defenseman when they traded Tyson Barrie to the Predators and made Bouchard the quarterback on the first power-play unit. His recent short-term extension is proof that Bouchard is willing to be patient as far as earning a bigger contract, but with the way he’s been contributing with his elite shot and hockey IQ on the man advantage, he’s on pace to earn every cent of the massive extension he’s bound to get when his current contract expires.
What’s Next for the Oilers & Bouchard?
The Oilers are off until Thursday (Dec. 28) for their Christmas break. They won their final game heading into the holidays against the powerhouse New York Rangers and will be hoping they can ride that momentum into their next matchup. Hopefully, Bouchard and the Oilers can continue to play well under Knoblauch and continue climbing up the Pacific Division standings, and of course, into the playoffs.