Lets Imagine for a moment that the Edmonton Oilers fail to land any big fish defenders this offseason. It’s not hard (it has happened many, many times after all), Toronto may decide to hold onto Phaneuf, likewise for Pittsburgh and Letang, and Matt Niskanen who will be one of the most sought after FA defenseman decides that a rebuilding Oiler team is not something he wants to be part of. That leaves Craig Mactavish with a choice, he can pursue other big fish through trade and costless agency, though the pickings are very slim, or he can choose to once again try and implement a defense by committee philosophy.
This is a tactic used by teams that have no “studs”. It can be effective if the right pieces are in place, and the coaching staff runs the gauntlet in a smart and effective manner. This would mean hanging onto Petry, Schultz, Ference and Marincin while simultaneously bringing in a couple defenseman who can effectively play 18-21 minutes/night.
These won't be flashy players, and the four outlined in this article may not be the best options out there. The two main targets identified would be Fayne and Hainsey. But the key to this strategy is having a group of guys that will be better than the additions of last season. The Oilers cannot add any more Frasers, Belov's or Grebeshkov's. The focus should be on proven NHLers who have shown an ability to play a depth role against tough competition successfully.
Targets:
Anton Stralman
Stralman is currently playing in the Eastern Conference Finals with the New York Rangers. He is 27 years old, 5’11 and 190lbs. So he is not a “bruising” defenseman. He would be the Philip Larsen addition of 2014-15. Physical play is not his style. He is a puck possession player with a strong first pass and good skating. He plays an offensive minded style from the backend. He is a solid puck-mover, and would bring some ability to play on the PP, though the Rangers had better options there this season. He has a hard and accurate shot, which could be beneficial for the Oilers PP.
He averaged 19 minutes/game for the Rangers this season with most of those minutes coming 5 on 5 along with a little time spent killing penalties. He is coming off contract that was paying him $1.8 million per season, and a huge payday is unlikely.
Overall it is probably unlikely, he seems to be a mold of what we have in place with Schultz, and Schultz has more upside. If he were brought in it would only be wise as a number 6 guy who plays some second line power play minutes.
Mark Fayne
This would be a great pickup for a depth defensive role. He is a much better option than other guys who play similar styles, and would come in likely under the radar. For New Jersey he has been the go to guy in terms of facing off against tough opposition for the past couple seasons. He is physically capable, makes simple plays and could help mentor the young guys along.
He averaged 18 minutes/night this season, and was a go to option on the penalty kill. He brings no offensive ability with him, but if the Oilers are locked in on having a defensive defender, Mark Fayne is a far better option than Mark Fraser or Matt Greene.
The Devils are going to be looking to lock him up no doubt, but if he does make it to costless agency, he should be high on Mact’s shopping list.
Ben Lovejoy
Lovejoy is thrown in here simply because he is a better option than Mark Fraser. If it comes down to Lovejoy or Fraser, the better choice would probably be Lovejoy. This is a player who is a little longer in the tooth, at age 30 he is on the start of the hill downwards. If the Oilers are looking at this player it should be for a 1 or 2 year contract only. Just enough time to push the youngsters down the line a bit, and provide a guy that can play a depth defensive role.
His value comes from his ability to play against tough competition and not get dominated. This would be beneficial for guys like Ference and Petry as it would give them another veteran to help shoulder the load. Like Fayne he would bring penalty killing acumen, and a physical style of hockey that is lacking on the Oilers.
Adding Lovejoy would be in the same vein as guys like Fraser and Greene, but he has put up far better possession numbers against tougher competition. This makes him much more valuable than these other two players.
Ron Hainsey
Hainsey is another guy that doesn’t wow anybody. He plays a simple straightforward and effective game. He averaged 21 minutes per game this season, so he would bring a little more value as a top four defenseman as he has proven he can handle the increased ice time.
Incredibly he played 43% of his shifts on the PK this season for Carolina. He is in that same mold of shut down, kill penalties and play against the tough competition. He is a veteran and would bring some stability to the backend.
Wrap Up
| Player | GP | TOI/60 | CF% | CF% Rel | FF% | QoC TOI% | ZS% |
| Anton Stralman | 81 | 19.2 | 56.5% | +6.0% | 56.2% | 28.7% | 50.7% |
| Mark Fayne | 72 | 18.0 | 55.3% | +1.5% | 54.9% | 28.9% | 47.3% |
| Ron Hainsey | 82 | 21.2 | 51.0% | +1.2% | 51.6% | 28.7% | 48.8% |
| Ben Lovejoy | 78 | 19.1 | 48.2% | -2.2% | 48.8% | 29.4% | 48.6% |
The thing with all these players is that they would come in as depth defenders. Employing a defense by committee is a strategy that can work, New Jersey made it to the finals a couple seasons ago doing just that.
The value comes from giving the goaltending support, helping mentor the young defenseman coming up through the system, and taking away some ice time from these young defenders that are not ready to handle 20 minutes/game.
Would adding Mark Fayne and Ron Hainsey make the Oilers better? Yes, absolutely. Would it make them a playoff team? No, very doubtful. But if the Oilers are focusing on development of their good young defenders then adding depth guys and taking a defense by committee approach is probably smarter than selling the farm.
The time for selling the farm is still a couple seasons away. We need to see the type of players that Marincin, Klefbom, Schultz and Nurse will become. Once we have some established stability from the young up and comers, we can zero in on which players can be used as trade bait to put the Oilers over the top.