Josh Brown is a 6’5 defenceman, and his game heavily relies on using his size as his best asset. However, that isn’t how Paul Coffey envisions his defence playing. Recently, Oilers defenceman Travis Dermott spoke about how Coffey wants the defence to play.
Coffey has made no secret of the fact that he wants his defenseman to be able to move the puck and make plays both last season and this year. Because it allows them to get the puck to their talented forwards, the Oilers are incredibly successful when they do this. The main issue is that Brown isn’t a good puck-moving player. Fans have already noted how frequently Brown turns the puck over, and he is now listed as the third worst defenseman in the NHL by xGF%.
Brown, who is thirty years old, has participated in 290 NHL games. He is who he is right now; it’s not like he’s going to turn into a master passer. It would be reckless to expect him to keep making inventive passes, so the Oilers coaching staff must either figure out a way for him to be productive in a more restricted shutdown defensive role. While he was out of the starting lineup far into the playoffs, Vincent Desharnais was still able to play a similar role and be an effective player.
Josh Brown’s contract with the Oilers appears to be a mistake even before the regular season starts, but he will start on opening night to give it a fair chance. But the Oilers have seen enough from him at this point to know that he cannot meet up to Coffey’s coaching standards. To fix a small issue on their blue line, they’ll need to come up with another solution.
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