The Edmonton Oilers Have The Best Defensive Pairing in The Entire NHL?
Ken Holland has to be proud of the Edmonton Oilers group that he has molded together into a contender.
During the trade deadline, he made an acquisition that was painful for Oilers fans as our power-play quarterback was sent to the Nashville Predators.
But since then, the trade has been a real win-win for both teams.
Mattias Ekholm slotted into the Edmonton Oilers team with ease, as he offers a veteran presence for the team and mentorship for young defenseman Evan Bouchard.
Ekholm, while a plus-19 in 18 games for the Oilers, with the next contest Saturday afternoon in San Jose, also has 11 points (three goals) and 31 shots in an Edmonton uniform. Did anybody expect that? He had 18 points in 57 games with the Predators before the trade.
«When I made the trade, No. 1, I was looking for a guy who could really defend,» said Holland. «I knew we could score, but we needed a defender. I wanted somebody with size and I also liked Mattias had three years left in his contract. So it wasn't a one-off (trade rental).»
«When I made the trade, No. 1, I was looking for a guy who could really defend,» said Holland. «I knew we could score, but we needed a defender. I wanted somebody with size and I also liked Mattias had three years left in his contract. So it wasn't a one-off (trade rental).»
Ekholm may have a small sample size with the Oilers currently, but his contributions have been anything but small as he has been an analytics dreamboat, as seen above from Shayna as he and Bouchard are in elite company.
| POLL | ||
Is the Bouchard-Ekholm pairing the Oilers best? | ||
| Yes | 96 | 95 % |
| No | 5 | 5 % |
| List of polls | ||
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