"Absolutely not good enough": Subban targets Oilers defence in social media rant
One former NHL defenceman is not impressed with the current state of the Edmonton Oilers defence corps. P.K. Subban took to social media to share his thoughts on the state of the Oilers’ defence corps after the team lost 8-1 in their season opener to the Vancouver Canucks.
He let them have it.
“8-1 on the road, you’re supposed to be a contending team, absolutely not good enough,” Subban said. “Absolutely atrocious of the Edmonton Oilers. No excuse for it in game one.”
The Oilers’ defence got the majority of the criticism from the former Norris Trophy winner.
“I spoke about it last year in the conference final, that their defence wasn’t where it needed to be. It wasn’t a championship defence core,” Subban continued.
@espnnhl The #Oilers had a rough start to their year š (via @PK Subban) #hockey #NHL #PKSubban ā¬ original sound – NHL on ESPN
The Oilers were missing arguably their top defenceman, Mattias Ekholm, who appears set to return on Saturday. Ekholm was acquired from the Nashville Predators last season and played great for the team down the stretch into the playoffs.
But Subban, who is now a commentator for ESPN in the United States, was not letting Ekholm’s absence absolve the others of blame for the embarrassing performance.
“Yes, they upgraded Mattias Ekholm. Yes, he wasn’t playing last night but, you know what, everyone else on that d-core needs to take a step forward including Darnell Nurse who is healthy,” Subban said.
Nurse comes under fire as he’s currently playing on a contract worth a total of $74 million with a cap hit of $9.25 million. He was -2 on Wednesday night and played far below expectations.