The story going into this season for the Edmonton Oilers was that they were going to be aggressive in trying to bolster their defence at the NHL trade deadline.

They entered the season with a somewhat rag-tag group of blue liners, solid through four spots with Mattias Ekholm, Evan Bouchard, Darnell Nurse and Brett Kulak, while there were relative unknowns in what Troy Stecher, Ty Emberson and Travis Dermott would do.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2107" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="325"></div>
We&#8217;ve seen the latter of those three placed on waivers since being claimed by the Minnesota Wild, while Stecher and Emberson have both punched above their weight classes — figuratively and <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2024/12/12/watch-oilers-defenceman-ty-emberson-trades-punches-with-wild-winger/">literally</a>. Recently, Edmonton&#8217;s search for defensive help has <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-search-for-defensive-help-opens-new-options-as-insider-lists-potential-fits">reportedly expanded to include left-shot defencemen</a>, beyond just right-shots, likely due to the emergence of Kulak playing his offhand side with Nurse.
The coaching staff has continued to tweak things, and while the current second and third pairs of Nurse and Stecher and Kulak and Emberson may not be ideal, given both are treading water at best, one has to wonder how many pieces the Oilers will look to add.
On Tuesday&#8217;s edition of <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/do-the-oilers-have-enough-defensive-depth-to-go-far">Daily Faceoff LIVE</a>, Colby Cohen and Carter Hutton discussed Edmonton&#8217;s current makeup:
<blockquote>
Colby Cohen: You will not win a Stanley Cup if this is your group of six. You just will not. They need more depth. They need help in the top four. I think Darnell Nurse has turned his game around…but I still think the depth is a big problem for this D-corps.
Carter Hutton: I agree. I try not to be hard on [Evan] Bouchard because there’s times where his game has been very good, but (Monday night) was not one of them…I think for this back end, they’re going to need more, and when do they wait? When do they make a move? What do they find here because I think there’s a point where they know what it takes to push themselves over the top for a Stanley Cup Playoff run. I think right now, they’re missing a few pieces on that back end.
</blockquote>
Hutton is likely right in the Oilers&#8217; need for a few pieces. Stecher is the most likely of the bunch to slide out of the lineup, and there&#8217;s an argument the Oilers could upgrade on Emberson, too.
The Oilers will have some time to decide on who to target in the trade market and who to replace, and the team has strung together some wins as of late, winning eight of their last 10 games while outscoring teams 44-23.
<hr />
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist, making up one-half of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff/streams">DFO DFS Report</a>. He can be followed on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zjlaing">@zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
<hr />
<h2 dir="ltr">This article is presented by Deloitte Canada</h2>
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The story going into this season for the Edmonton Oilers was that they were going to be aggressive in trying to bolster their defence at the NHL trade deadline.



They entered the season with a somewhat rag-tag group of blue liners, solid through four spots with Mattias Ekholm, Evan Bouchard, Darnell Nurse and Brett Kulak, while there were relative unknowns in what Troy Stecher, Ty Emberson and Travis Dermott would do.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2107" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="325"></div>
We've seen the latter of those three placed on waivers since being claimed by the Minnesota Wild, while Stecher and Emberson have both punched above their weight classes — figuratively and <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2024/12/12/watch-oilers-defenceman-ty-emberson-trades-punches-with-wild-winger/">literally</a>. Recently, Edmonton's search for defensive help has <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-search-for-defensive-help-opens-new-options-as-insider-lists-potential-fits">reportedly expanded to include left-shot defencemen</a>, beyond just right-shots, likely due to the emergence of Kulak playing his offhand side with Nurse.

The coaching staff has continued to tweak things, and while the current second and third pairs of Nurse and Stecher and Kulak and Emberson may not be ideal, given both are treading water at best, one has to wonder how many pieces the Oilers will look to add.

On Tuesday's edition of <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/do-the-oilers-have-enough-defensive-depth-to-go-far">Daily Faceoff LIVE</a>, Colby Cohen and Carter Hutton discussed Edmonton's current makeup:
<blockquote>
Colby Cohen: You will not win a Stanley Cup if this is your group of six. You just will not. They need more depth. They need help in the top four. I think Darnell Nurse has turned his game around…but I still think the depth is a big problem for this D-corps.
Carter Hutton: I agree. I try not to be hard on [Evan] Bouchard because there’s times where his game has been very good, but (Monday night) was not one of them…I think for this back end, they’re going to need more, and when do they wait? When do they make a move? What do they find here because I think there’s a point where they know what it takes to push themselves over the top for a Stanley Cup Playoff run. I think right now, they’re missing a few pieces on that back end.
</blockquote>
Hutton is likely right in the Oilers' need for a few pieces. Stecher is the most likely of the bunch to slide out of the lineup, and there's an argument the Oilers could upgrade on Emberson, too.

The Oilers will have some time to decide on who to target in the trade market and who to replace, and the team has strung together some wins as of late, winning eight of their last 10 games while outscoring teams 44-23.

<hr />

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist, making up one-half of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff/streams">DFO DFS Report</a>. He can be followed on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zjlaing">@zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.

<hr />

<h2 dir="ltr">This article is presented by Deloitte Canada</h2>
<a href="https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/services/consulting/perspectives/next-generation-managed-services-journey-cost-to-value.html"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-166323 size-full" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2099/02/24-10005378_Website-OilersNation_4-720x404px-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="1422" /></a>

Being competitive today means working differently. Deloitte’s managed services offer a new way to embed continuous advantage by energizing and driving your critical business functions. Unlock talent on demand, advance innovation, and gain insight to maintain a competitive advantage. Build stronger, transform faster, and turn your cost centres into value generators. Operate with Deloitte.

How many more pieces does the Oilers blue line need?

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