Well put!


100% agree



And yes I would disagree with this. Brodie is stability for Rielly. Holl and Muzzin are without question one of the best pairings in the North Division.

holls actually been better than nurse this year, and brodie doesnt bring the offence but is much better than nurse defensively

He wouldn't replace Olekisak, for one reason and that reason is that he wouldn't fit well with Heiskanen. Nurse is better than Oleksiak offensively no doubt, but he wouldn't mech well with Heiskanen, instead of Heiskanen leading the offense he would have to stay back more. Oleksiak and Heiskanen have perfect chemistry together Heiskanen is a two-way dman and Oleksiak is a defensive dman, Nurse is an offensive dman. Nurse would maybe be the 4th best man in Dallas, but not in the top 4.

so many oilers fans are butthurt because they were the favourite in the north and cried when people didnt think otherwise

Huh? They were never the favorite. What Oilers fans were saying was they had the highest points percentage among Canadian teams last season and people were picking them be one of the worst teams in the North.

I mean everyone could make an argument based on things like who meshes well with who and what is a good fit. I don't get the notion that Nurse is an purely an offensive defenseman. He's not. Although since the start of 17-18 he's 13th in EV scoring among Dmen. But he's really taken a step this season in being positionally sound, and a lot of that has to do with maturity and experience. He's not making some of the questionable plays that he has in the past.

Maybe not you, but Ive seen multiple on this site saying they were gonna come first

You totally left out the Wild D. Spurg and Suter are both better than nurse. You can even make the argument that Brodin is also.

Who?

so many oilers fans are butthurt because they were the favourite in the north and cried when people didnt think otherwise

At 5v5 scoring, Nurse is a top defenseman.

2017-18: 24 (20th in the NHL)
2018-19: 27 (15th)
2019-20: 26 (7th)
2020-21: 4 (15th)

This year he's taken a distinctive step forward defensively and in his decision making both with and without the puck - and it shows. Here are the 26 defensemen listed above and their GF% rel and xGF% rel so far this year:

Slavin: +37.78 / +10.88
Makar: +32.22 / +20.46
Chabot: +25.88 / +6.91
Hamilton: +20.00 / -0.10
Pulock: +18.55 / +16.32
Nurse: +17.09 / +6.66
Ekman-Larsson: +6.67 / -10.28
Theodore: +5.45 / +7.03
Burns: +3.57 / -1.33
Heiskanen: +1.21 / +3.16
Doughty: +0.76 / +6.30
Klingberg: 0.00 / -3.22
McAvoy: -0.39 / +8.95
Provorov: -1.21 / -3.19
Weber: -1.23 / +6.68
Pietrangelo: -5.45 / -14.17
Ekblad: -5.56 / +4.23
Karlsson: -6.39 / -17.84
Parayko: -11.57 / -8.96
Carlson: -13.92 / -4.78
Hughes: -17.02 / -9.85
Werenski: -17.14 / -2.70
Jones: -18.75 / -14.95
Ellis: -20.78 / +1.95
Morrissey: -22.65 / -3.49
Hedman: -23.23 / -5.40
Josi: -32.39 / +7.40

Nurse is 6th in GF% rel and 9th in xGF rel. Tiny sample size I know, but it does give some indication how well he's been playing this year.

The Oilers were never the favorite

This gives Advance stats a bad name, using whatever numbers you can to force a narrative. Nurse along with all the Oilers get caved in when McDavid isn't on the ice. He's a 2nd pair defenceman on most teams and 3rd on some.

does it all the time, nitpicks the stats that improve his argument

At 5v5 scoring, Nurse is a top defenseman.

2017-18: 24 (20th in the NHL)
2018-19: 27 (15th)
2019-20: 26 (7th)
2020-21: 4 (15th)

This year he's taken a distinctive step forward defensively and in his decision making both with and without the puck - and it shows. Here are the 26 defensemen listed above and their GF% rel and xGF% rel so far this year:

Slavin: +37.78 / +10.88
Makar: +32.22 / +20.46
Chabot: +25.88 / +6.91
Hamilton: +20.00 / -0.10
Pulock: +18.55 / +16.32
Nurse: +17.09 / +6.66
Ekman-Larsson: +6.67 / -10.28
Theodore: +5.45 / +7.03
Burns: +3.57 / -1.33
Heiskanen: +1.21 / +3.16
Doughty: +0.76 / +6.30
Klingberg: 0.00 / -3.22
McAvoy: -0.39 / +8.95
Provorov: -1.21 / -3.19
Weber: -1.23 / +6.68
Pietrangelo: -5.45 / -14.17
Ekblad: -5.56 / +4.23
Karlsson: -6.39 / -17.84
Parayko: -11.57 / -8.96
Carlson: -13.92 / -4.78
Hughes: -17.02 / -9.85
Werenski: -17.14 / -2.70
Jones: -18.75 / -14.95
Ellis: -20.78 / +1.95
Morrissey: -22.65 / -3.49
Hedman: -23.23 / -5.40
Josi: -32.39 / +7.40

Nurse is 6th in GF% rel and 9th in xGF rel. Tiny sample size I know, but it does give some indication how well he's been playing this year.[/quote

What D in the league is measure on just 5v5 stats? Does he do PP does he do PK. His stats are terrible when your captain is off the ice. Thats like me making the argument that since Brodin is #1 defensive D in the league that makes him the best in the NHL.

This gives Advance stats a bad name, using whatever numbers you can to force a narrative. Nurse along with all the Oilers get caved in when McDavid isn't on the ice. He's a 2nd pair defenceman on most teams and 3rd on some.

What D in the league is measure on just 5v5 stats? Does he do PP does he do PK. His stats are terrible when your captain is off the ice. Thats like me making the argument that since Brodin is #1 defensive D in the league that makes him the best in the NHL.

5v5 is like, 75% of the game and provides insight on a standardized playing level. Being good at 5v5 is pretty important for hockey.

This gives Advance stats a bad name, using whatever numbers you can to force a narrative. Nurse along with all the Oilers get caved in when McDavid isn't on the ice. He's a 2nd pair defenceman on most teams and 3rd on some.

Makes sense to ignore all the other stats then. Regardless he would be the 4th or 5th best D on the wild.

You’ll use expected goals when it fits your narrative (proving other teams/players are bad) but you ignore them and say “this gives advanced stats a bad name” when someone else uses the metric to prove a point.

Expected goals is far more reliable than what this guy's uses and he will ignore anything that hurts his case and joins stats that don't correlate to make himself sound right. The fact of the matter is, Edmonton isn't good and terrible defensively. The only two players who tilt the ice in their favor is McDavid and sometimes Draisaitl.

Ethan bear tilts the ice in their favor. He’s been elite play driver this season and solid defensively as well. Puljujarvi has been a perfect compliment to mcdavid and even without him he’s been solid.

The bottom 6 is the problem.