Montreal Canadiens: Ranking The Canadian Division Team’s Defensemen

Edmonton Oilers

Darnell Nurse – Ethan Bear

Caleb Jones – Adam Larsson

Kris Russell – Tyson Barrie

Darnell Nurse and Ethan Bear are the type of pairing that would be excellent to have  as a second pair. If they are your second best, you probably have a really deep blue line, but if they are your best pairing, they may get overmatched and overwhelmed at times. Bear had a breakout season last year with 21 points in 71 games and played almost 22 minutes per night.

The second pair of Caleb Jones and Adam Larsson won’t offer much of anything offensively but we know Larsson will be steady in his own zone. Jones was a rookie last season and played just over 14 minutes per game. With Oscar Klefbom out for the season, Jones needs to take a huge step forward to help this team defensively.

Russell and Barrie could be a “hold-your-breath” pairing for Oilers fans. While Barrie will show flashes of brilliance offensively and is a terrific skater, he isn’t the greatest defender at even strength. Neither is Russell for that matter. Barrie will be great on the power play and Russell will block a lot of shots on the penalty kill, but even strength? Yikes.

Overall, this group would look a lot better if Klefbom were playing on the top pairing with Bear and everyone else was pushed down the lineup. Jones should be battling for ice time, not being forced into a top four role. Some nights this group will look great. Other nights this team will be stuck in its own end most of the game.