Josh Brown played his first game with the Edmonton Oilers in over seven weeks on Tuesday (Jan. 7), a 4-0 victory for the Oilers over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. The defenceman had been recalled by Edmonton from the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League (AHL) on Saturday (Jan. 4).
Signed by the Oilers on July 1 to a three-year contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $1 million, Brown has only played four games in the NHL this season. He was sent to the AHL after a disappointing training camp and didn’t show much during a three-game stint with the Oilers in November.
But the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Brown can provide the Oilers with elements they lack, and if Tuesday’s game was any indication, there might be a place for him on Edmonton’s roster yet.
Brown Registers Four Hits in Boston
Brown logged 11:49 against the Bruins, finishing the game with a plus/minus rating of plus-1, one shot on goal, and four hits. And it’s that last stat which is notable.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Oilers’ 4-0 Shutout Victory Over Bruins
His total of four hits is tied for the third most by an Edmonton defenceman in any game this season, and Brown’s rate of 20.31 hits per 60 minutes is the highest single-game average by any Oilers blueliner in 2024-25.
With Brown injected into the lineup, the Oilers doled out 18 hits on Tuesday, a near 50 percent increase over their season average and most in a game since Dec. 19.
Oilers Lacking Physical Presence
While Edmonton is on a roll right now, going 15-4-1 over its last 20 games, there is persisting concern that the Oilers’ lack of physicality will be an issue in the postseason.
As a team that emphasizes puck possession, it’s expected the Oilers will register fewer hits than most teams. But their totals over the first half of this season are at red-alert levels.
The Oilers are registering just 12.83 hits per 60 minutes, which is the lowest such average in the NHL since 2006-07. They rank dead last with 517 hits, and even if that total was doubled, Edmonton still wouldn’t rank top five in the league.
The Oilers are in dire need of players that bring a degree of physicality. On Tuesday, Brown provided just that, and the result was a 4-0 victory that many considered to be one of Edmonton’s two or three best all-around performances this season.
Brown Struggled in Preseason
Many fans raised their eyebrows when Edmonton signed Brown during the offseason. He didn’t have a particularly good season with the bottom-feeding Arizona Coyotes (now Utah Hockey Club) in 2023-24, and on a team with Stanley Cup expectations like Edmonton, he ideally wouldn’t be more than sixth or seventh on the defensive depth chart.
The Oilers likely saw Brown as a replacement for Vincent Desharnais, who left the Oilers via free agency to sign with the Vancouver Canucks. Desharnais had many shortcomings, but he did provide size (6-foot-7, 227 pounds) and could throw the body (135 hits in 2023-24, fourth on the Oilers).
During the 2024 preseason, Brown looked weak in the defensive zone with his decision-making and didn’t make much of an impact offensively. The 30-year-old was sent to the minors, losing out to both Troy Stecher and Travis Dermott (who has since been claimed on waivers by the Minnesota Wild) in the battle for an Oilers’ roster spot. When he was recalled in November, Brown suited up for three games, averaging just over 12 minutes of ice time, and totalling six hits.
Over 20 games with the Condors this season, Brown has collected three assists and has a plus/minus rating of plus-3. He also leads the team with 54 penalty minutes.
Brown Impresses Knoblauch
It remains to be seen how long Brown’s latest stint with the Oilers will last. Some fans were upset that Brown didn’t go after Boston’s Nikita Zadorov after the towering blueliner collided with Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner. But Brown impressed Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch, who during Tuesday’s post-game media availability singled out Brown for having a strong outing.
Brown’s next chance to show he should stick around could come tonight (Jan. 9), when Edmonton visits the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.
