Oilers GM Spreads The Blame For Struggling Defense Ahead Of NHL Trade Deadline
The Oilers averaged four goals against in their three games after the Olympics. Going into Friday's NHL trade deadline, don't expect the team to find yet another goaltender, however.
Video Transcript
Well, you traded a inconsistent goalie for a goalie that is inconsistent and- Yeah, we talked about this.
It's the same yeah.
They were the same And you gave up Brett Kulak as al- as well in the process.
So, you know- And then P- Pittsburgh used that to get Sam Girard, so Yeah, so the, so the Oilers, you know, regardless of what you think about their goaltending, they, they could use a Brett Kulak on defense right now.
And, you know, I think the smartest move they made was bringing back Paul Coffey to help the defense.
And I think- Yeah you know, he's gonna make, you know He's gonna do whatever he can do.
Um- Right but anything short of Paul Coffey, you know, strapping on the blades is gonna, you know- Bring him back you can only do so much.
And- Yeah you know, at the deadline they're gonna have to try to find, you know, maybe one or even two defensemen to kinda shore that up.
But, you know, if you're, if you don't have a good goaltender you better have good defense.
And if you have great defense you can have inadequate goaltending.
Unfortunately for the Oilers, it seems like they have a little bit of both.
Mm-hmm.
This just seems like something that's really hard to fix.
And again, like, the goaltending thing, it didn't get better, and that's what they thought was holding them back from winning a Stanley Cup.
Now, when I'm looking forward to the playoffs, Ryan, it, it, it doesn't feel even remotely better.
I don't know.
It's-- I mean, their defense has been worse this year than it was the previous year.
Like, it's just like, "Oh, this is it.
We gotta do it," but what are we doing?
Yeah.
And, and you know, you, you look at that Connor Gauthier goal, you know, when they lost to Anaheim, I guess it was two nights ago now, he was wide open, like, on the side of the net.
Like, nobody picked up Connor Gauthier, who is a pretty big, young man.
Uh- Huge and, you know, somebody that you should cover 'cause he's highly skilled as well.
Mm-hmm.
So I, I agree with Mike, you know, bringing Paul Coffey, back behind the bench, I think should pay dividends.
I, I think the hope for the Oilers, I, I do think they should try to get another defenseman, at the deadline.
but also, like, this is kinda like This would make me nervous if a, if I was an Oilers fan because you know you have the talent and the, the goal scoring to win at least a round or two, but, you know, the bar has been set at Stanley Cup, right?
Yeah.
And we know- Right for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, like, that is the goal.
And when they start playing some of the other titans in the Western Conference, what's that series gonna look like?
Like, what happens when they play a Vegas or a Minnesota, for example, you know, a team that is, filled with great two-way players and a defenseman in Quinn Hughes, who is probably one of the few people on earth who can skate with McDavid.
like, what happens in that series?
Especially when you also know you don't have the best goalie in the series.
I think that is the sort of existential crisis for Edmonton right now is, how far can you go with this group?
