Josh Brown is a 6’5 defenseman whose game mostly focusses on making the most of his size. But that’s not how Paul Coffey sees his defence doing. Travis Dermott, a defenseman for the Oilers, recently discussed how Coffey expects the defence to perform.
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 is 30 years old and has played 290 career NHL games. At this point, he is who he is – it’s not like he’s going to become a master passer. The Oilers coaching staff either needs to find a way for him to be effective in a more limited shutdown defence role, because asking him to continue to make creative passes is borderline irresponsible. Vincent Desharnais was able to be an effective player in a similar role, but he was removed from the lineup deep into the playoffs.
The Oilers contract to Josh Brown is looking like a mistake before the regular season even begins, but still he will be in the opening night lineup to give him a fair shot. At this point though, the Oilers have seen enough that he can’t live up to Coffey’s coaching expectations. They’ll have to find something else to solve a minor problem on their blue line.
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