Defence and goaltending expectations for the Edmonton Oilers

Last week I looked at the Edmonton Oilers forward core and gave each of them a set of expectations most fans expect them to achieve this upcoming series.

Now let’s turn our attention to the defence and goaltending. The defence is the same group of guys coming into the season that we saw back in June besides John Klingberg who left for the San Jose Sharks.

On the goaltending front, the Calvin Pickard-Stuart Skinner tandem will be the duo for the third straight season—this time with a new goalie coach in Pete Aubry. The goaltending in particular is the most questionable part of the team this series and may be the biggest reason why Connor McDavid has yet to sign his rumored four-year extension.

Let’s jump right into the players:

Mattias Ekholm

When healthy, Ekholm is Edmonton’s best pure defender and one of the top 20 guys in the league. However, over the course of the last few years he has been prone to being out for long stretches. His age is definitely showing. That’s not to say he’s been bad because he’s still a top-pair calibre defenceman. But he definitely isn’t as elite as he was when he came onto the team in 2022–23 and that 2023–24 season.

The goal for Ekholm is to cut his minutes back a bit, but still be that smart defender that’s been a breath of fresh air for this season over the last few years (as well as make the Olympic team).

Evan Bouchard

Fresh off a new four-year $10.5M extension, Bouchard in my opinion is positioned to have a sensational year. Mark my words he will make Team Canada this year.

For the last three playoffs he’s been the best defenceman in the league. That’s just factually true. I’m tired of the fans who harp on him for a bad giveaway on a Thursday night game in December versus the Philadelphia Flyers. He’s a top ten D in this league. He’s going to hit 90+ points this year.

Jake Walman

Walman came in at the deadline and was the perfect fit for this group. His puck-moving ability was sorely needed in the bottom-four and he’s a warrior blocking every shot at there. When Ekholm went down with an injury, Walman played phenomenal in increased minutes.

The goal for Walman is to carry Darnell Nurse on the second pair, play PP2, contribute offensively (35–40 points) and eat up shots and play well in his own zone. I love this player a lot.

Darnell Nurse

With Jake Walman here, Nurse will likely see no power play time on the second unit. He’s gonna munch up a ton of penalty kill time now. Nurse is what he is, and scarily, he is at the age where players of his playstyle start to fall off. Oh boy, that contract will just keep getting uglier.

Regardless, the expectation is to play well with Walman on the second pair, just try to improve defensively and get around 30 points as he typically does.

Brett Kulak

Kulak has been such an underrated and one of the best third pair defencemen in the league since he joined the team at the 2022 deadline. I do think he’ll get paid next summer by another team and he deserves it.

For Kulak, just keep doing what he’s been doing: be a shutdown presence on the backend while chipping in some offence here and there.

Ty Emberson

Emeberson had a solid first season with the Oilers. While he started off slow, he got more and more comfortable as the season progressed and landed a new two year extension.

The expectation for him is to rotate with Troy Stecher on the third pair with Brett Kulak, keep playing solid on the penalty kill and develop some offensive skills. He showed glimpses of it last season and at 25-years-old, he still has a lot of room to grow into a good #5.

Troy Stecher

Stecher is a player most people love here in this city, especially after his declaration of how much he adores Bob Stauffer. Stecher is a workhorse. He’ll block shots, he’ll take a huge hit, he’ll go after the toughest guy on the opposition, he’ll bark, he’ll skate hard, etc. He’s the ultimate team guy.

Last year in 66 games, he had seven points. I think it’s likely he’ll rotate with Emberson as Kulak’s partner as I mentioned above and that’s perfectly fine. All I want from Stecher is for him to keep playing as he has thus far.

Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard

I’m combining Pickard and Skinner here because I truly don’t know who’s the #1 goalie. Yes, Skinner is supposedly better and more fit this year. Yes, Skinner is probably better, has the higher upside, younger and has the ability to go on stretches with strong play. But he’s always lost his job at some point during the year. Last season he lost the job in the playoffs TWO games in and it took until Pickard’s injury versus Vegas to get him back in. Skinner lost it versus Vancouver in 2024 and almost lost it a few times to Jack Campbell in 2023.

I think by the deadline it wouldn’t be too shocking to see both Skinner/Pickard split the starts and then one of them gets dealt in a package for a legit starter. Regardless, the Oilers cannot start the season slow as they have the last few years. If both of these guys can win around 17–20 games by the deadline with a SV% of .905 then we’re fine. (Also please trade for Connor Ingram.)