When the Oilers traded Brandon Davidson the prevailing thought was that the team was going to lose either him or Reinhart in expansion anyway and they might as well get something for him. He was dealt for David Desharnais, who had his ups and downs in his short Oiler career, scoring one of the biggest goals in the playoff run, but ultimately walked away in the summer.
As the summer played out and expansion proceeded, the Oilers finished with none of Desharnais, Davidson, or Reinhart. This year in Montreal Brandon Davidson appeared in just 13 games and found himself out of favor with a team about as desperate as Edmonton to find life in the lineup. Davidson played with Petry and Benn as his primary partners, when he was playing at all.
When you look at all of Montreal’s results with Davidson on the ice, it’s hard not to think the Oilers are buying low on a guy who was just getting some awful luck. He was first on the Habs blueline in shot attempt and unblocked shot attempt percentages. He was second in actual registered shot percentage. All of which are well above 50%. In goals, however, he has the lowest percentage.
It comes back to the story of PDO and how some wonky percentages can completely alter the way players are perceived. Process-wise, the Habs were doing very well with Davidson on the ice. They out possessed and shot the opposition by quite a bit. None of that matters though when your goalie has a .892 save percentage behind you.
So Edmonton is hoping that they are getting a 6/7 defender who knows the systems, knows the players, and can contribute to more solid defensive play. Having watched him play the majority of his career, I welcome back the physicality and the level-headed play in his own zone.
Davidson has been described as a character guy his whole career. He was never supposed to succeed at almost every level of Hockey he’s played in. He became captain of his WHL squad. A leader in the AHL. An NHL player. He’s battled low expectations and forced his way onto teams his whole life. Oh, and he’s a cancer survivor.
What it means for Edmonton is that they are up to 49 contracts now and once again pretty heavy with left handed defensemen. The team needs a legitimate goaltending option ASAP and whether it’s Auvitu or Gryba, an extra defender is probably on the move. At least, we hope it’s one of those two and not Klefbom.
Reminder: Sekera and Russell have NMC’s so the only regular LHD that can be moved are Klefbom and Nurse.
I have time for Gryba, but his penalties are out of control. With Edmonton not playing until Wednesday, we are waiting to see if Chiarelli makes a move to fix his balance.
Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy