Bouchard overtakes Coffey with 50 assists from a defenseman for the Edmonton Oilers.
It’s no secret that Evan Bouchard is the type of defenseman who lives and dies by his gun.
As the six-foot-three, 192-pound right-hander crossed their blue line, the Edmonton Oilers knew precisely what they were getting.
And that’s a shotgun, no doubt about it.
However, it is only a portion of the offensive toolkit that has propelled Bouchard to the forefront of the competition this season. On Tuesday, the 24-year-old made history by dishing up his 50th assist in the Montreal Canadiens’ 3-2 overtime victory.
With that accomplishment, he joined Paul Coffey as the only other Oilers defenseman to achieve that mark.
Naturally, Bouchard would need to repeat the process five times over to bridge the massive gap left by the Hall of Fame defenseman. And it was prior to going on to record eight further 50 assist games in the course of a 21-year career abroad.
However, no defenseman in this area has been able to accomplish it for the previous 36 years.
Thus far.
Four-time Stanley Cup champion Coffey remarked, “That’s a great milestone.” Coffey rejoined Kris Knoblauch’s coaching staff and went back to the Edmonton blue lines he once patrolled as a player. For the remainder of Bouch’s career, let’s hope the number is 50 or higher year.
“He’s a really talented player. He sees the ice really well, is as astute as they come, and plays against many of the best offensive defensemen in the league.
Maybe it should come as no surprise that, under the guidance of a renowned Oilers player who wrote the book on offensive defensemen, Bouchard is truly blossoming. However,
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