Oilers GM Stan Bowman speaks the truth Evan Bouchard after major criticism
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Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard has faced a barrage of criticism this season, and now GM Stan Bowman is coming to his defence in a new interview.
Bouchard has faced criticism for some costly turnovers and alleged defensive flaws, but Bouchard actually ranks in the top 5 for least turnovers by defenceman this year.
Stan Bowman comes to the defence of Evan Bouchard in new interview
Stan Bowman met with NHL insider Frank Seravalli for an episode of the Frankly Speaking Podcast, and the Oilers general manager defended his star defenceman from the criticism of the media.
Bouch does get a lot of criticism - I think a lot unfairly so. He's a great player, he really is a big part of our team. He's very effective, and I think sometimes when your mistakes get spotlighted, for whatever reason, then maybe there's more attention given to it.
- Stan Bowman
- Stan Bowman
Bowman continued to highlight that Bouchard's offensive strengths play into the strengths of the Oilers skilled forward group.
While his offence has decreased this season from last year's 82 point campaign, so has the rest of the Oilers. The turnovers are glaring and costly, but perhaps wouldn't feel so bad if the Oilers got a save every now and then.
Bouchard is still producing at the rate of an elite two-way defenceman, and hopefully will be a part of the team's long term future.
Stan Bowman keeping all options open before trade deadline
In the rest of the interview with Frank Seravalli, Bowman was largely non-committal about the Oilers trade deadline plans.
The Oilers are still awaiting concrete news on the health status of Evander Kane, which will heavily determine the amount of salary they have to spend at the deadline this season.
At this point just 5 games away from the deadline, it's conceivable the Oilers could trade for a forward, defenceman, or goalie at the trade deadline. The last two positions may have the biggest impact, and should be their biggest priority.
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