Fans call for Cody Ceci to be benched after these terrible plays
Photo credit: Edmonton Oilers
After last night's game, Kris Knoblauch has one shot at letting players know that lazy play is not acceptable. Knoblauch needs to build a culture of accountability, and that should start with the benching of Cody Ceci in favour of Philip Broberg.
Ceci was absolutely awful in last night's game, where he was for some reason the defenseman with the most time on ice. None of the defensemen could clear the puck from the Oilers' zone whcih resulted in way too much sustained pressure. The Oilers could benefit from a young guy like Broberg who has a lot of energy and who feels like he has to prove himself in the lineup.
Knoblauch's decision to play Ceci so much in the first place is already confusing, since the Oilers took majority of their draws in their own end. Kulak and Ceci is not the pairing you want to see taking defensive zone draws, I'd much rather see it be Nurse-Desharnais. Broberg would be the much better choice over Ceci because he can be slotted on the last pairing with Kulak and actually be responsible on his own.
Knoblauch then compounded on the problem by putting Ceci and Nurse together, which is the classic pairing we've all seen too much of. This pairing got absolutely dominated, and looked terrible together. These two can never be put together, as it is just too much of a disaster to watch. The play should have been to just continue with lines as normal, but Knoblauch over-coached here and screwed the team.
Knoblauch has been a great coach since he's taken over, but it seems like he always struggles to recognize what the defensemen need. He needs to take control of the room and send a message that mistakes won't be tolerated this late in the season, and benching Ceci for Broberg would send a message to all players to tighten their game up.
| POLL | ||
28 MAI | 170 ANSWERS Fans call for Cody Ceci to be benched after these terrible plays Do you think Broberg for Ceci is the right idea? | ||
| Yes, Ceci is holding the Oilers back | 104 | 61.2 % |
| No, stick with experience and hope it gets better | 66 | 38.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
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