June 21, 2023 by Ryan Lotsberg

I recently wrote a piece about the positional asymmetry of the Edmonton Oilers forward depth chart. Today my focus is on the positional asymmetry of the defence.

Related: Positional Asymmetry on the Oilers: Part 1- The Wingers

Here’s the depth chart as I see it right now:

   LD                        RD

Ekholm               Bouchard

Nurse                 Ceci

Kulak                  Desharnais

Broberg             

Niemelainen      

The left side has five players with NHL experience. Mattias Ekholm is an elite defender, and he brings enough offence to be able to call him extremely well rounded. Darnell Nurse has finished outside the top 20 in even strength points by a defenceman just once since 2018-19. Nurse is a fantastic skater, and he doesn’t get enough credit for how good of a defender he is, especially now that his cap hit is $9.25 million per year. Brett Kulak more than held his own as a second pairing defenceman for the Oilers last season. He skates well and rarely makes major mistakes. Philip Broberg and Markus Niemelainen have both proven that they can play at the NHL level in limited roles.

The right side is much more questionable. Evan Bouchard is easily the best right-handed defenceman the Oilers have. His underlying numbers were fantastic all year long, even when he was struggling in the goal share column. His defensive play has improved significantly, not just because of Ekholm either. The puck started going in for him down the stretch and in the playoffs. He did a fantastic job of quarterbacking the powerplay after taking over from Tyson Barrie. I’m expecting Bouchard’s offensive output to explode in 2023-24 with a full season of running the Oilers powerplay.

The right side gets dicey after that though. Cody Ceci was more than serviceable as a top pairing defenceman in his first year as an Oiler, but his performance dipped significantly this past season. That could be attributed to a suspected core injury that plagued him all throughout last season. There’s a chance he could regain his health this summer and return to form next season. Whether it’s a return to form or a different player, the Oilers need an upgrade on the version of Ceci they got last season.

Vincent Desharnais is a feel good story. The former seventh round pick made his NHL debut near the halfway point of the season, and the team started winning consistently after he started playing. He could’ve made the team out of camp if not for an injury. Desharnais gave the Oilers the physical, shut down presence they needed on the back end. However, he got exposed a little bit in the playoffs. That experience is behind him now and he’ll grow from it. There’s no escaping the fact that he’s inexperienced in the NHL though.

Time will help bridge the talent gap between the left and the right side. Bouchard and Desharnais will continue to get better. Ceci will turn 30 years old during the coming season though. We know what his ceiling is. The healthy version of Ceci is not a bad option, but it would behoove Ken Holland to search for an upgrade. 

Darren Dreger reported that the Oilers are interested in Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Brett Pesce. He would be a perfect replacement for Ceci. Carolina might only be willing to part with him if they feel they can’t sign him to an extension. The Oilers would be hard pressed to fit Pesce’s $4 million under the cap for next season. Bouchard is likely getting a short-term bridge contract, as short as one year. The cap is supposed to rise significantly for 2024-25, but entering next summer with Bouchard and Pesce needing new long-term deals would be troublesome. 

The same could be said for Brandon Montour of the Florida Panthers. There’s a theory out there that the Panthers would trade Montour for a first round pick which could then be used to trade for Erik Karlsson. The Panthers will need a certifiable replacement for Aaron Ekblad since he will miss a significant amount of time this coming season. Montour being moved this summer seems unlikely for that reason, but you never know. He also only has one year left on his deal though, and he will also be getting a handsome raise on his next deal. The Oilers would be in the same predicament with Montour as they would be with Pesce. 

The argument for keeping Ceci is that he has a reasonable cap hit and cost certainty for two more years. If he was injured last season, then a summer of training and rehabilitation should put him in position to return to full form. That’s a bit of a risk, but it’s the safest risk right now.

There are no simple fixes to the positional asymmetry on the defence depth chart. There are no vacancies like there are on the forward depth chart. Brett Kulak can play the right side, but he would have to replace either Ceci or Desharnais on the right side. Trading Ceci and sliding Kulak to Ceci’s spot would open up some cap space to be used on a forward and create a roster spot for Broberg. That would create an inexperienced third pairing of Broberg and Desharnais. Their skill sets are a good fit for each other, but the inexperience of the pair is scary in a season where it’s Cup or bust.

Broberg has some experience playing the right side. He’s just much better on the left side. The benefit of playing Broberg on the right side would be that he would be paired with a solid veteran. If he were to be paired with Kulak on the third pairing, then Kulak could theoretically play the right side on that pairing. Desharnais’ size, physicality, and net front presence would then exit the lineup. I could see that happening some nights, but not on a permanent basis.

I can’t think of a perfect defence core in the NHL right now. The Vegas Golden Knights have three fantastic defencemen at the top of their lineup, but then Shea Theodore was paired with Brayden McNabb on their second pairing. McNabb does a lot of good things, but he’s hardly a top four defender in my opinion. Boston had the closest thing to it with Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindhom, Brandon Carlo, and deadline acquisition Dmitri Orlov in their top four; but they lost in the first round. It’s certainly possible for the Oilers to enter the coming season with their current defence and win a Stanley Cup; but there’s no doubt that the right side could use a bit of a boost.