Oilers Keeping Bouchard Over Barrie Was Right Move - The Hockey Writers Edmonton Oilers Latest News, Analysis & More

When the Edmonton Oilers first traded Tyson Barrie to the Nashville Predators as part of a massive trade package which brought back Mattias Ekholm, I was skeptical of the team giving Evan Bouchard more ice time and finally elevating him into a bigger role. My issues with Bouchard stemmed from his inability to play a strong defensive game on a consistent basis as he was still young and made plenty of mistakes, all while being expected to provide offensive production on the man advantage. While he is still young and has a lot left to prove, he has slowly been improving defensively and has continued to elevate his offensive game to a point much higher than Barrie was ever able to reach. While Barrie provided offensive strength and was dominant on the power play, Bouchard has taken the role and run with it, proving to everyone why he has deserved the ice time from the beginning.