Oilers’ Evan Bouchard named NHL’s second-best D-man in analyst’s bold take, behind Cale Makar

Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard earned major recognition from NHL analyst Jeff O'Neill.

Speaking on TSN’s Fanduel Overdrive after the Oilers’ 4-3 overtime win over the Panthers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, Jeff O’Neill praised Evan Bouchard’s performance. He ranked Bouchard as the second-best defenseman in the league, behind Colorado’s Cale Makar.

Makar tops the NHL fantasy rankings, with Bouchard being seventh.

"A bit of a crazy statement. After watching last night and watching throughout the playoffs, what do you got? Before the playoffs, you would have punched me as hard as you could. I think the pecking order on D in the NHL is one, Cale Makar, and two, Bouchard," O'Neill said.

"The way he's playing, right? Maybe it's recency bias, because all those other guys aren't playing, but I think he's that good, man. I think he is unbelievable."

O'Neill's co-host Bryan Hayes pushed back on the bold take, arguing that he would still take Vancouver's Quinn Hughes over Bouchard.

"He's been phenomenal. But I'm obviously taking Quinn Hughes over Evan Bouchard, and I think you would too." Hayes said.

Bouchard recorded an assist on Viktor Arvidsson’s second-period goal, fired seven shots on net, blocked two shots and finished with a plus-2 rating Game 1.

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Bryan Hayes's take on Evan Bouchard's performance in Game 1

Bryan Hayes broke down Bouchard’s Game 1 performance against the Panthers and highlighted how impressive he looked in overtime, especially when he maneuvered past Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling with ease.

"Yeah, like, he dangled Gustav Forsling (Panthers D-man) in overtime and got in alone. (What an unbelievable play) that was." Hayes said

"Like, Forsling, I think, looked at him, "This is Evan Bouchard’s stick check." Like, you know how sometimes if you catch a forward playing defense, you're like,'Okay, I'm going to really try something here, because I don’t think he can defend me.'"

Hayes pointed out that Forsling might have misjudged Bouchard’s offensive threat and didn’t close in on him tightly enough. He compared Bouchard’s slick move with something out of Mario Lemieux’s playbook.

While Hayes praised Bouchard’s overall performance, he pushed back on the idea that Bouchard is ahead of Canucks blueliner Quinn Hughes.