Evan Bouchard’s Making It Messy Out There

Hear me out: Evan Bouchard is the Oilers' most important player. This does not mean they'd suffer the most if he were removed from the equation; their pair of all-universe forwards obviously qualify there. It also does not mean he's a constant shortcoming holding the team back from a Cup; that person wears a lot more pads. What Bouchard is to Edmonton is pivotal: a No. 1 defenseman who's now paid like it, who has the puck on his stick more than just about anyone, who quarterbacks a lethal attack, who is a threat from anywhere—and who can't seem to stop doing very silly things that cost games. As Bouchard goes, so go the Oilers.

It makes thematic sense that Edmonton's identity—potent! yet flawed; sexy to watch! yet prone to disaster—would be so tied up in an offensive defenseman. Bouchard clearly does enough on the attack to make the trade-offs worth it. He was third on the team in scoring last year and in their last two deep postseason runs. He's got a heavy slapper and he's a great puck-mover, and his chemistry with McDavid and Draisaitl is real, and tight. The Oilers locked him up as their No. 1 blueliner for four years for a reason. But he's also more than occasionally confounding, making turnovers you wouldn't want to see from an AHL guy, and at age 26 it's pretty safe to say this is just Who He Is. It's easier to deal with when he's scoring, and the Oilers are winning. When he's not and they're not, it's crazymaking. Here's how the scoring opened in Rangers-Oilers on Thursday:

Jonny Brodzinski wasn't even really hiding there, or disguising his willingness to break out. Bouchard just took a little too much dip on his chip and believed he could complete the cross-ice pass. He couldn't. Brodzinski didn't even have to shift gears, or do more than extend his stick. Just a baffling choice, born of self-confidence. Not that self-confidence is a bad thing, but it's a fine line. "With Evan, sometimes your greatest strength is also your greatest weakness,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “You have a great talent of making passes and feeling confident that you can do that. But when it's not working, it's costing chances against.”

It's working ... less in this young season so far. The Oilers are 5-4-3, and a particularly chaotic 5-4-3, with about as many inspiring comebacks as disheartening collapses. Bouchard has just seven points and one goal. And when the puck isn't finding twine, he's not exactly cut out to switch to a stay-at-home rock on defense. He finds himself pushing, and flailing. "When one turnover happens, you’ve got to not let it turn into two, three in a row," he said last night, and in the context of this blog, that's foreshadowing.

Just inside his own zone, Bouchard failed to clear a puck past Conor Sheary that a few touches later would be the tying goal for New York.

The Rangers would win in overtime on a J.T. Miller goal that featured suspect defense from Bouchard choosing to defend a passing lane rather than squeeze the puck-carrier, but it was also kind of a group effort with a soft backcheck, so I won't ding him too much for it. But it was already the third minus-three night for Bouchard this season, and while plus/minus is a fake as hell stat especially for defensemen who play big minutes against top lines, those minuses were roundly earned in this one.

"Playing harder is going to have to be something that I do," Bouchard said, gamely facing the media after this stinker. I'm kind of worried about his read on this; no one's doubting his commitment or his effort, but rather his decision-making. It's something the Oilers have made clear they're willing to live with. But they'll die with it, too.