Best Defence

Best Defense vs. The Dallas Eakins defense: One's a story about a hapless man who's thrust into the spotlight to be the saviour of a defense program that is manned by the clueless  - the other is this movie staring Dudley Moore and Eddie Murphy

Yesterday, we covered one of the Oiler's stronger areas, the forwards. Today, we'll cover the defense. "The whaaaa??", you may ask, "I don't think they have one of those." Well, they do. It's just that in 2013/2014 it was worse than the ending of a Stephen King novel.

 Last year, the Oilers were a bursting dam on defense and there weren't enough fingers at a hand puppet convention to plug all of the holes. Big mistakes, small mistakes, series of mistakes - they were all made and often. It started with a new defensive system put in place by the new rookie head coach. That was abandoned a couple months in when the coaching staff realized that the inexperienced blue-line didn't know how to play defense, let alone wrap their collective heads around more complicated systems play.

Once things were simplified and a couple of rookie D-men were given a chance, things seemed to settle down a bit - they went from septic tank to just 'stinky'. The performance of the two call-ups Martin Marincin and Oscar Klefbom portends of good things to come for the Oiler blue, but they're just not quite there yet. In the meantime, Craig Mactavish nade a few significant off season moves in order to steady the defense until the cavalry arrives in the not too distant future. They also managed to add a ton of size to the back end, without sacrificing mobility.

Your 2014/2015 defense will look like some kind of combination of the following:

Andrew Ference: The captain of the team, but for how long we're not sure. Yes, he's a great leader in the dressing room but it's difficult to lead by example when your a bottom pairing defense-man. He is most definitely a legitimate NHL defender, however at this stage in his career, Ference is a number six defender. Last year, too much was asked as Ference and I believe that this year, less is more. Used properly, Ference is a solid member of the blue line.

Jeff Petry: An unsung hero and a personal favourite of mine. This is a man who has had to develop his skills on a terrible team all while being force fed to the league's toughest competition. It would be like learning to hang glide during a tornado. Unfortunately, all the ice time he's been given makes him front and center to the eyes of the fans, many of whom have turned on Petry and made him one of the prime targets of their disgust with the state of the team. He is a better defender than people realize, however, judging by his new one year deal and UFA status at the end of this year, it looks like management has sided with the fans and Jeff is as good as gone come trade deadline, if not earlier. Too bad, I just hope the return makes the deal worthwhile.

Nikita Nikitin: On the downside, this is a high priced player who seems to have taken a down-turn in play over the last couple of seasons while playing with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He's been given less and less responsibility as newer and better talent started to arrive on his former team. On the upside, he is a big, mobile, legitimate NHL defender with over 220 NHL games experience and some offensive ability. A former partner of his on the Russian team, he's what the Oilers were hoping Anton Belov would turn into when they gave him a shot last year. Senior VP of hockey ops, Scott Howson, was the man responsible for bringing Nikitin to Columbus, has his finger prints all over this pick-up.

Mark Fayne: This is the shut down defense-man you were looking for. Big, mobile and plays against the opposition's toughest competition. And we get to watch him for the next four years in the prime of his career. Happiness.

Justin Schultz: If you believe Mac-T, we've got Duncan Keith in the making. If that's true, "Schultzy" only has half a rink to figure out how to play in and a nastiness to discover from within. I'm not saying that he has NO edge to his game, but after meeting Justin once, Chuck Norris decided to stop kicking ass. On the other hand, he does have the offensive skills to back up the comparison and look for him (with the help of Craig Ramsay) to gather a ton of points on the power play. I don't know if he can win a Norris trophy, but I think that if he can develop his defensive game and time his offensive contributions better, Justin Schultz could be a great top four defender for years to come.

Martin Marincin: Chara-lite. Well, more like caffeine free, diet Coke Zero Chara ultra-lite. Actually, all they have in common is that they are ridiculously tall, lanky, Slovak defensemen. Marty has miles to go to be considered any where near the realm of Chara. That being said, Marincin showed well in his 40+ game stint with the Oilers last year and more than held his head above water while facing some decent competition. He's young and has plenty of time to grow into his 6'5" frame, he currently uses his long stick and wide wingspan to take the puck away from his opponents. If he can learn to get more physical and apply the body as he gains weight, his Chara comparisons may be warranted.

Keith Aulie: Coach Eakins said of Will Acton last year that he was like a bad smell - 'he just wouldn't go away'. Well, neither does the parade of ex-Toronto Marlies to the Oilers. On the other hand, this is probably the best former Eakins' student that has arrived in Oil town. On a cheap contract, Aulie is an absolute dump truck of a human being (6'6" 228 lbs) and plays a nasty physical game. Something the blue line sorely lacks. Most envision him as the seventh defense man, being placed in the line-up when size and grit is needed. Best player they've had in this role for some time and his name doesn't end in     -eckham. Perfect.

Oscar Klefbom: Mactavish is quoted as saying in many a blog what a giant hard-on he has for this guy. A first round draft pick, Klefbom has all the tools be the shut-down defender of the future with some serious offensive up-side. He can skate, he's large, can make a pass and take one too. He's been held back by a season long injury two years a go and is still adjusting to the North American game after playing the majority of his career on European ice. I've seen this guy play first hand. It's not a matter of if but when.

Ok, four more sleeps until the Young Stars tournament! Tune in tomorrow for the goalie preview.