During Sweden's first practice, the national team's lineup decisions may come to the delight of Edmonton Oilers management. The position is loaded heading into the 4 Nations Face-Off, and Sweden is baking on this group exceeding expectations in order to win gold. With the team tying to tinker with the best pairings, their first efforts paired Oilers defender Mattias Ekholm with Pittsburgh Penguins puck-mover Erik Karlsson.
The Oilers brass might use this pairing as the jumping off point for some big dreams and crazy ideas. On paper, Ekholm and Karlsson are a complimentary pair. Karlsson is eager to join the offense, carries the puck, and thrives in possession situations. Ekholm is a positional genius. While his puck-moving abilities are underrated, his bread and butter is eliminating opposition rush chances and one-on-one defense.
You put those two skillsets together and they play to their standards, it's an ideal defensive pairing. The key for these two will be identifying the right moments. Picking when is the best time to pinch and activate in the offensive zone and on the rush will be crucial for Karlsson especially, but crucial for the pairing overall. They have to identify those right moments and trust each other when they do. Sweden will be relying heavily on this pairing during even strength, and if they struggle the Swedes will only be collecting losses at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
I can't help but to wonder if Oilers General Manager Stan Bowman gets any bright ideas from watching this pair play together. Karlsson has drawn trade buzz all season long with the Penguins trending towards a third straight missed postseason, and the Oilers have been in the market for another right-shot defenseman for the entirety of the Connor McDavid era. Making a trade work would be a financial long shot given how much money Karlsson is still owed on his deal, but the Oilers can wish in the meantime.
