@kurri_jari The reality is that nobody here on X knows who is what in the locker room. We see what's on TV, but we don't see who leads in the locker room. We don't see who leads at practice. None of us know who the room wants to be their leader.
@jdurham70@Buccigross@LAKings Taxes are true and politics are an issue, but none of the Kings live in LA. They all live in Redondo/Hermosa/Manhattan Beach.
Two things I hear often with Bouchard...
He turns the puck over too much. His turnovers are bad ones.
The first, isn't really true. The NHL has him with 100 giveaways, 2nd to MacKenzie Weegar. He also has the puck a lot and most of the league leaders in giveaways are high end possession players. Karlsson (3rd), Kucherov (4th), MacKinnon (8th), Theodore (9th), Werenski (12th) etc.
Bouchard has turned it over on just over 11% of his total possessions, the 6th lowest turnover rate among all defencemen.
The second, there is a bit more truth to but not close to the point where I would label him a liability, as some have. The average XG value of shot attempts against as a result of his turnovers is just under 6.0. That puts him middle of the pack in the league. All things being equal, we could expect Edmonton to have allowed 6 or 7 goals against as a result of Bouchard turnovers this season. They've allowed 9. Hedman, McAvoy, Theodore, Toews are a few D with higher average XGA on average.
All that to say, he isn't perfect or among the elite D when it comes to puck management but he's far from a defensive liability and the rest of his game more than makes up for any shortcomings.
Not for nothing, Bouchard plays more minutes than any defenceman on the Oilers, a team which ranks 4th in the league in XGA / 60 at 5v5.