The Edmonton Oilers are still searching for consistency this season, sitting at 9-9-4 and coming off back-to-back losses, with the latest being a 7-4 humbling at the hands of the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night.
Like most Oilers players, Evan Bouchard is also trying to find his game. The defenseman already has 31 turnovers this year and has been involved in a string of costly mistakes that ended up in the Oilers’ net. Those errors have led to growing frustration from coaches, analysts, and fans who want to see more reliability in his defensive play.
St. Louis Blues Legend Issues Damning Indictment on Evan Bouchard
Despite his struggles, Bouchard’s reputation remains as one of the league’s most productive blueliners with 17 points in 22 games. But his defensive game is drawing scrutiny, including from a Hall of Famer.
St. Louis Blues legend Chris Pronger weighed in on Bouchard’s performance in the D-zone, which sparked a debate among analysts.
Sportsnet analyst Justin Bourne defended Bouchard, saying he had a rough start like the rest of the team but has recently returned to form. Bourne argued that fans know exactly what Bouchard brings. “We know exactly what he is as a player at this point. All he does is drive the play to the other end,” Bourne wrote.
Pronger strongly disagreed. He pointed out that he was in Edmonton last week and watched Bouchard get benched for half of the first period, adding that Bouchard didn’t look engaged defensively.
“He was not interested in the DZ. He has negatives and positives, just like we all do, but his poor DZ play will always keep him off the best on best teams. Just saying.”
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Veteran Oilers analyst David Staples joined the conversation in support of Bouchard. He questioned how Pronger could overlook Bouchard’s strong showings in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, where the Oilers defenseman was among Edmonton’s best players.
Pronger pushed back on that point, saying he gives some weight to Bouchard’s playoff performance, “But the SCF is NOT best on best. It is best team on best team. The biggest issue for me is that he cannot be trusted in the DZ. He is an elite passer and drives the play in OZ, but I am saying the DZ play is more important for HC. I could be wrong tho.”
Pronger believes Bouchard’s defensive struggles outweigh his strong offensive numbers at least for now. With the Oilers hitting new defensive lows every week, the onus will be on Bouchard to iron out those errors.
