The Edmonton Oilers have had an incredible amount of offense from their defense over the last 72 hours. On Saturday, Evan Bouchard of Oakville, Ontario scored thrice in a 6-5 Oilers overtime win over the Washington Capitals, and on Monday, Mattias Ekholm of Borlange, Sweden scored thrice in a 7-4 Oilers win over the Anaheim Ducks.
To put these hat tricks into perspective, this is the first time in NHL history that one team has had different defensemen record a hat trick in back-to-back games according to Scott Maxwell of Daily Faceoff. In the Oilers win over the Capitals, Bouchard did not just score, as he picked up three assists too en route to an impressive six point game. In the Oilers win over the Ducks, two other Oilers defenseman scored in the second period as Spencer Statsney scored his first goal with the Oilers and Darnell Nurse had his seventh goal of the season.
While the Oilers are getting offense from their defense, there is still a concern about whether or not the defense is playing quality defense. The Oilers blueline have given up 15 goals in the last three games. There is a general feeling that the Oilers may need another defensive blueliner whose job is to minimize quality scoring chances by opponents. Here are three Oilers defensemen the franchise may be interested in.
Luke Schenn
The native of Saskatoon is a NHL journeyman as he has played for nine different NHL teams. This season Schenn has 115 hits in 37 games with the Winnipeg Jets. The Oilers should be looking for a defenseman that is very physical. In 1109 games, Schenn has 3773 hits in 1109 regular season games. Schenn has also won two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021.
Logan Stanley
The native of Kitchener, Ontario is another Jets defenseman that has a physical side. So far this season, Stanley has 82 hits and 59 blocked shots in 50 games. Stanley is also showing more goal scoring ability. After only having five goals in his first five NHL seasons, Stanley already has eight goals for Winnipeg in 2025-26.
Matt Grzelcyk
The Oilers have already acquired Spencer Stastney of Woodbridge, Illinois in a trade already this season with the Nashville Predators. So far this season Grzelcyk of Charlestown, Massachusetts may be a defenseman the Oilers need. Yes, he is a -1, but he is playing on a Blackhawks team that is a -24.
