The Edmonton Oilers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers#google_vignette] changed much of their blueline this summer, so much so that the group deserves a comparison to the one iced last season. Darnell Nurse is gone. Ryan Shea and Shakir Mukhamadullin are in. Connor Murphy is back for a full season, Jake Walman new contract kicks in, and Edmonton now has enough NHL defencemen that somebody useful is going to start the year outside the lineup. This is, without a doubt, a deeper blue line than last year. That said, Edmonton also moved around a lot of guys without doing much to improve the top D-pairings. There isn't much left to learn about Mattias Ekholm. He has been Edmonton's most dependable defensive defenceman since arriving from Nashville and remains one of the few players responsible enough to play with Evan Bouchard. His biggest advantage is that he'll defend the rush, retrieve pucks, win battles while Bouchard works the offensive side of his game The concern is that Ekholm is getting older and only has a few more years, if that, left in him. Now Shea and Mukhamadullin aren't ready to be Ekholm, but they could take the necessary steps this season to jump into that role in future years. Evan Bouchard can make people furious on Tuesday and win Edmonton a game on Thursday. There are very few teams around the league that have defenceman such as him, and how many points he gets is why he makes $10.5 million a year. The Oilers have McDavid and Draisaitl up front, but Bouchard is the player who carries that over to the blueline. But everyone knows that Bouchard does not value the defensive side of his game nearly as much. He often does not show any urgency to fix the scoring chances he gives other teams, and quite often this can lead to a goal against. Connor McDavid to Toronto? The Reporter Behind the Viral Comments Explains [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/ea9b75c4-629b-4d0e-8d8f-b5981d8c0003.jpeg] Connor McDavid to Toronto? The Reporter Behind the Viral Comments Explains THN's Michael Augello sets the record straight on the speculative rumors linking Edmonton’s captain to the Maple Leafs, detailing the specific conditions required for a potential homecoming. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/connor-mcdavid-to-toronto-the-reporter-behind-the-viral-comments-explains] Jake Walman is the guy who can decide how good this defence actually becomes. Edmonton is now paying him $7 million a season to be an important part of this group. He can give the Oilers another defenceman capable of being more offensive without being too much of a liability. But he's inconsistent at times. He needs to be playing regularly because the defence becomes much easier to organize when he does, and if he and Murphy can make it work, the Oilers have two solid pairings to throw out against another team's top lines. That is a big if for a player beginning a seven-year contract. Connor Murphy is pretty uncomplicated. Where Does Jarry's Future Lie? [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/83570371-d6d1-4807-9842-28a12ab9aff4.jpeg] Where Does Jarry's Future Lie? Barring Devon Levi completely falling apart to start the season, the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers#google_vignette">Edmonton Oilers</a>' plan for Tristan Jarry should go as follows. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/where-does-jarrys-future-lie] He's never gonna score 50 points. He really is just here to defend, kill penalties, block shots and get around the net. However, Murphy isn't a particularly dynamic player, and he's not going to give you speed on the back end. He is also 33 years old on a five-year contract, which is a conversation for another day. For this season, putting him beside Walman makes sense. Edmonton signed Ryan Shea for five years at $20 million ($4 million AAV) after finishing with 35 points upon leaving Pittsburgh, his best NHL season to date. The Oilers are essentially betting that they found a player who figured things out late (29). There is a possibility, however, that they paid for the best season of his career, and the rest wont follow the same course. Shakir Mukhamadullin is 24, 6-foot-4 and has played in the NHL before. He has size without being painfully slow and still has room to become something more than a bottom-pair defenceman. Edmonton hasn't had that in a while. Connor McDavid to Toronto? The Reporter Behind the Viral Comments Explains [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/ea9b75c4-629b-4d0e-8d8f-b5981d8c0003.jpeg] Connor McDavid to Toronto? The Reporter Behind the Viral Comments Explains THN's Michael Augello sets the record straight on the speculative rumors linking Edmonton’s captain to the Maple Leafs, detailing the specific conditions required for a potential homecoming. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/connor-mcdavid-to-toronto-the-reporter-behind-the-viral-comments-explains] Spencer Stastney doesn't require the coaching staff to completely change its pairings when somebody gets hurt, and nobody should expect him to suddenly become a major offensive contributor. His biggest disadvantage is that there isn't an obvious path to becoming much more than what he already is. Edmonton needs a seventh and eighth defencemen too, and Stastney is capable of playing when required. Ty Emberson finds himself in a strange position after spending much of the past two seasons as a starter. He's is right-handed, still relatively young and doesn't cost much. A year ago, that was enough to keep him in the lineup most nights, just not anymore. He has fallen victim to the depth chart itself, and that's a pretty decent problem for Edmonton to have. Where Do The Oilers Rank In The Somewhat Unpredictable Pacific Division? [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/a3b15d02-0cbe-49c6-8c6e-45e035f7c430.jpeg] Where Do The Oilers Rank In The Somewhat Unpredictable Pacific Division? After a disappointing first-round exit, Connor McDavid’s squad faces a reconstructed Pacific Division. We break down how Edmonton stacks up against surging rivals and aging contenders. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/where-do-the-oilers-rank-in-the-somewhat-unpredictable-pacific-division] So, is this defensive group actually better than last season? The Oilers lost Nurse, but they also got back $9.25 million a season and signed enough defencemen to fill the gap. Last season's Oilers could get thin quickly when somebody went down. This year's team could have Stastney and Emberson sitting outside the top six, ready to go in when needed. See more of The Hockey News on Google and save us as a preferred source [https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=thehockeynews.com]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
