Modifié 30 sept. 2020 à 18 h 4
The pressure to win now is a bit artificial, and has been exacerbated by the strong showing the team had in the last regular season. I have a difficult time believing Holland will completely abandon the strategy he has had in place since arriving in Edmonton. I am confident that finding someone to share the crease with Koskinen, a 3C, and either signing Athanasiou to an affordable contract or finding other options to play with McDavid rank higher for Holland than tinkering with the defence. Although Edmonton doesn't currently have a true #1 d-man, I believe the noise regarding OEL is way off base and that Holland is targeting potential changes in the bottom pair and 7th man rather than the top 4.
Larsson may be showing signs of decline at a relatively early age but he's still a decent top-4 RHD and he's on an expiring contract. Klefbom and Nurse are Edmonton's top two d-men. Klefbom is entering those years when NHL d-men tend to hit their prime, Nurse has a couple of seasons to go before reaching that stage. Bear, if he can continue to improve, can only be seen as a very pleasant surprise and decent second-pair RHD. Jones is a better skater and is more athletic, and he may surpass Bear if he can have a similar break out this season. Lagesson is a younger left-handed version of Larsson, Bouchard is ready for more NHL time, Broberg is playing the role of a #1 d-man in the SHL, Samorukov has had a strong start to his KHL season, Kesselring seems to get better and better, Kemp is no slouch, and there are a slew of older European prospects playing pro hockey in Sweden and Finland as well.