The Edmonton Oilers acquisition of Mattias Ekholm has paid off completely. Though an expensive acquisition, unquestionably Ekholm represents a huge upgrade to the Oilers core. Between his quality, his effect on the lineup and overall team identity, coming in with term on a retained cap hit, and his willing embrace of the city of Edmonton itself, Ekholm has lived up to the billing in virtually every way.
The question is not if Ekholm is worthy of praise, but rather to what extent. Is Ekholm the best defenceman on the Oilers? Even further, is Ekholm a dark horse candidate for the Norris Trophy? To answer these questions let’s take a closer look at what Ekholm has brought to the team in his first calendar year as an Oiler.
What Ekholm brings to the table
The most obvious place to start is in examining the role Ekholm is tasked with. Ekholm is unquestionably the Oilers top defensive option, commanding top pairing minutes at even strength and on the penalty kill. As with most top tier NHL players, Ekholm impacts the game in a number of different facets, even straddling several archetypes.
With strong skating ability and an ideal frame, Ekholm has the physical prowess to handle any opponent, either during in-zone or transition defending. Ekholm is not without offensive qualities either, with functional passing skills and a booming shot. To top it all off, Ekholm brings a wealth of experience, a high level of positional intelligence, a responsible disposition, and a meaningful degree of snarl and toughness. Ekholm does contribute limited power play usage on the seldom used second unit, though is not a true power play quarterback.
His partnership with Bouchard
It would be difficult to keep Ekholm and defence partner Evan Bouchard out of each other’s respective evaluations, as the duo has continued to produce as a pairing. Together, they form an elite top pair easily amongst the best league wide. A natural fit, the veteran defensive prowess of Ekholm has provided an ideal platform for Bouchard’s dazzling offensive upside to grow with. Bouchard rose to prominence instantly after Ekholm joined the team, blossoming into his potential.
Although it seemed to happen all at once, for a time Bouchard was seen as much less likely to become the player that he has. Prior to Ekholm, Bouchard was still fighting for minutes, starting on something of the third pair. After playing more minutes in the 2021–22 season with Duncan Keith as his partner, sheltered usage with Philip Broberg was seen as a backslide, despite their respectable results together. Fans had been clamouring for Bouchard to join the top power play unit, a role Tyson Barrie occupied until being traded for Ekholm. With Bouchard blocked from more minutes and stagnated in development questions and even doubt swirled.
Perhaps Bouchard could not have blossomed with Barrie, another offence oriented right shot, was ahead on the depth chart. Perhaps it was just a matter of timing that Ekholm’s arrival matched up with Bouchard’s ascent. Perhaps Bouchard was already fully prepared, held down only by coaching biases, as he had shown promise beyond his offensive abilities, controlling play on a pair with Broberg and logging some penalty killing time in the early seasons of his career.
Most likely, all of these are true to an extent. Indisputable is the fact that Ekholm is an ideal partner for Bouchard, and that the duo has brought out the best in each other. Acquiring Ekholm helps Bouchard to reach his highest level, while Bouchard gives Ekholm an ideal partner to remain effective into the later stages of his career. Both are more likely to outperform their cap hits thanks to each other.
Changes to the Oilers defence
Ekholm’s influence goes beyond the time that he is on the ice thanks to how the rest of the blueline slots underneath him in the lineup. The most obvious sign of this comes from analysing how Ekholm changes the role that is required of Darnell Nurse. While his cap hit being a bit rich is often the focus of evaluating Nurse, it is entirely reductive to offer no other insights. Nurse had been the team’s best defenceman, perhaps even until the Ekholm acquisition, and was doing well in these demanding circumstances under less-than-ideal conditions.
Nurse was asked to anchor the top pairing for an aspiring contender with Cody Ceci as his partner, and even lead the blueline to the Conference Finals through an injured hip in the 2021–22 season. While Nurse has the ability to be on the top even strength pair, Ceci isn’t exactly the most supportive partner that can be envisioned. Slotting Nurse down to the second pair makes either Ceci, or more recently, Vincent Desharnais much more tenable partners in the role.
Nurse was asked to play the top role on the penalty kill as well. While Nurse has the ability to contribute on both special teams, he is best served as a secondary option. In a hypothetical future with a truly symbiotic partner Nurse could easily take back hold of the mantle of top even strength pair over the Ekholm-Bouchard duo, but Nurse will not supplant Ekholm as the top penalty kill option or Bouchard as the top power play option.
While some fans might be hung up over the $2-3M that Nurse’s cap hit is overinflated by, he is a great player. Once more we see how the addition of Ekholm has improved a teammate, giving the Oilers three reasonable options of top pair defencemen.
How does the bottom three stack up?
Some fans might be critical of GM Ken Holland’s inability to add another top four defenceman, though with such a strong trio of defencemen leading the blueline, the Oilers provide a lot of support to the “bottom 3.” With a great deal of the difficult even strength and special teams accounted for, and with a spot on Nurse’s right open the main requirement of the group becomes having two right shots to hold down the penalty kill. Theoretically Bouchard could hold down some of these minutes, but this would hardly be efficient usage.
All of this combines to favourable usage for whichever three defenders work their way into the lineup. Brett Kulak is certainly a strong option on the third pairing, if not more. Ceci has been relied upon far too heavily over his time in Edmonton, has done admirably in playing above his weight class for so long, and remains at least as good as some of the veteran defensive options around his cap hit traded to contenders at the deadline.
Desharnais is the x-factor, a late bloomer who is pushing up the lineup despite offensive limitations, just as he has at every level on his way to the NHL. Quite simply, Desharnais earns the trust and respect of his teammates and coaches. Desharnais fills the last key special teams role, the top right defence spot on the penalty kill. With Ekholm as a penalty kill partner, Desharnais has almost certainly been elevated by having such an experienced mentor.
Ekholm’s impact on team identity
Ekholm’s effect on the Oilers goes beyond the lineup card, as his disposition was needed for the Oilers to continue their metamorphosis into a perennial contender. The Oilers have carried the burden of expectations throughout the Connor McDavid era, and even prior to that, thanks to their high end offensive talent. While offensive talents are often what grabs attention, the truth is that defence is the more conducive avenue to consistent success in the NHL. A true champion requires a healthy aptitude of both, but the Oilers have had their offence accounted for.
Instead, the journey that was necessary for the Oilers after the 2021–22 Conference Finals was one of becoming a formidable defensive team. The Oilers needed to forge their defensive identity, to embrace it as their top priority. Even though the Oilers quickly rounded into form after Ekholm was acquired last season, becoming a top defensive team at even strength, the identity was not strong or deep-rooted enough. The team’s defensive posture came undone in enough brief moments for the Vegas Golden Knights to defeat them.
After the series clinching loss, Ekholm spoke to this necessary embrace of a defensive team identity. Despite this, Ekholm was also generous in his praise of Bouchard, and noted that for Bouchard to be at his best that he must continue to make high risk plays. Ekholm clearly understands that the team as a whole needs to find a balance. While his wisdom and leadership are certainly valuable qualities here, it is Ekholm’s ability as an elite defender that truly gives his message weight. Ekholm is a part of the Oilers core, a collective identity that sets the tone of the team as a whole. His presence imbues the rest of the team with the capacity to take the next step on this defensive journey.
Can Ekholm enter the Norris race?
Far less important than Ekholm’s effect on the Oilers as a team are the personal accolades that may or may not be in his future. As far as individual trophies go, the Norris is the most relevant to Ekholm. However highly one thinks of Ekholm, a Norris win, or even nomination, is not something that breath should be held for.
First, the Norris is allegedly given to the league’s top defenceman, but in reality often goes to the league’s highest scoring defenceman. While both sides of the puck should be considered for such an award, the weighting is skewed enough that many have suggested a new award that recognizes the league’s best defensive defenceman. For the time being it’s quite unlikely that a defenceman without elite offensive production will be in consideration for the Norris.
For this reason, of the Oilers top three defencemen the one most likely to receive Norris consideration is Bouchard, and by a wide margin. In truth, Bouchard might even earn a nomination for the Norris this season, a big step towards an eventual win, as reputation is a key factor in voting as well. Bouchard is worthy of this consideration, as his defensive play has continued to grow while his offensive production speaks for itself.
Without taking anything away from Bouchard, Ekholm is every bit as important to the Oilers success. Naturally, their symbiotic relationship as defence partners makes separating their respective candidacies difficult. Some cognitive dissonance is required to reconcile the gap between their level of play and their likelihood to win the Norris.
In the end, the Norris talk is far from the biggest concern across Oil Country, as the team only truly covers one piece of hardware. Regardless of how one measures players against each other, Ekholm is a fundamental piece of the Oilers championship aspirations, and arguably the greatest deadline addition in franchise history.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
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