Oilers radio host roasts fan on air for brutal take on Evan Bouchard

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Liam McCormick
March 25, 2024 (7:52 PM)

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Bob Stauffer is one of the best Oilers media members, able to criticize the team when needed but is also a staunch supporter. Today, he defended Evan Bouchard on the radio against a horrible fan take.

On his radio show today, Stauffer read out a text from a fan criticizing every aspect of Evan Bouchard: his offence, defence, and physicality. Stauffer ruthlessly responded calling the fan a mouth breather, along with anyone else who doesn't see the value in Bouchard.

It's funny, I had a conversation yesterday with a longtime NHLer and we talked about the mouth breather element that exists in various markets, and one of the types of players that is consistently the most misunderstood is the skilled puck moving defenceman.

It really is astonishing that same Oilers fans are still reluctant to accept the truth that Evan Bouchard is evolving into a star defenceman in this league - and it's okay that he has some defensive flaws. Bouchard is currently tied for third in points across all NHL defenceman. His insanely impressive 72 points has him in the echelon of Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, and Roman Josi. On a team like the Oilers that have incredible forward talents, having a premier puck moving defenceman like this is critical.

Bouchard is still just 24 years old, and is still visibly improving from year to year. He's not near his final potential, which can easily include defensive improvements. Players can learn defence, but his offensive talents are gifts that are rare in this league. Oilers fans need to get behind Bouchard and accept him for the talent and player that he is - one of the most skilled offensive defenceman in the league.