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One of the Edmonton Oilers' major free agents has re-signed with the team. Evan Bouchard just signed a four-year extension with the Oilers. The former first-round pick of Edmonton was entering restricted free agency, but now will stay with the franchise in a huge win for both the Oilers and Bouchard.
Bouchard was the 10th overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft by the Edmonton Oilers. He would make his NHL debut in the 2018-19 campaign, scoring a goal that year. He would then return to the Oilers during the 2020-21 campaign and become a full-time player the next season. In his four full campaigns in Alberta, he has been great. He has missed just two games in the last four years, while scoring 10 or more goals in three of the four seasons.
Bouchard is coming off a slight step-back of a campaign. After scoring 43 and 40 points in his first two full years, he broke out in the 2023-24 season. That year, he scored 18 goals while adding 64 assists, good for 82 total points. Last year, he scored 14 goals and added 53 assists, good for 67 total points. Still, he was great in the playoffs once again, scoring seven times and adding 16 assists in this Stanley Cup Final run for the Oilers.
Oilers bring back a major piece of their core
The Oilers have made the playoffs each of the last six seasons, making it to the Stanley Cup Final twice, and the conference final three times. A major part of those runs has been their star blueliner, Bouchard. He is part of the top defensive rotation with Darnell Nurse. The two of them were the top two players in terms of ice time per game, outpacing even Connor McDavid. Even in this last playoff run, Bouchard was tops on the team in ice time, having over 1:30 more per game than McDavid.
Bouchard has also been part of the first powerplay unit, playing with McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Zach Hyman. His powerplay production has been part of what has made him valuable. In the playoffs, Bouchard had six powerplay points, which was fifth on the team. Still, in the regular season, he managed 26 powerplay points from the blue line, which was good for third, behind just McDavid and Draisaitl.
Still, while Bouchard was a major part of the overall offense, something that Edmonton was content with, his defense is not of the same quality. He was 106th in the NHL in being on the ice during a defensive zone faceoff. This ranked him one spot behind Nurse, who played in six fewer games. It was also behind fellow teammate Jake Walman. While he led the Oilers in time on ice per game this past season, the advanced stats show he was often used in a more offensive role as opposed to a regular blue line member. Still, the Oilers need this role on their team, and it is something that has helped bring them to the Stanley Cup twice in a row.
Final thoughts and grade on Evan Bouchard's contract
Bouchard is one of the highest point-producing blueliners in the NHL. Still, a large portion of his points come via the power play, paired with McDavid and Draisaitl. In the 2023-24 campaign, when he scored 82 points, 35 of them came on the power play, with many of those points connected to the two Oilers stars. This past campaign, 26 of his 67 points came via the power play. It takes skill to be that big of a factor on the man advantage, but having McDavid and Draisaitl helps.
As noted, the offensive capability of Bouchard is massive. He is third in the NHL in points among blue-liners in the last two seasons, behind just Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes. His offensive numbers make him one of the top defensemen on any roster. Still, the defensive numbers are not at the same level. While they are top-pairing numbers, they are not top-three in the NHL level.
For Bouchard, he took in a massive payday, and it was well deserved. He may have been able to get a smidge more money on the open market, but he also gets to keep playing in Edmonton. For the Oilers, the length of the deal leaves something to be desired. They will have Nurse under contract for one more year beyond Bouchard. Further, they just re-signed Trent Frederic to an eight-year deal, double the length of their star blue line player. This creates a situation where their top player on the rearguard will be just 29 years old the next time he hits free agency. That fact could come back to bite Edmonton. Still, if they get a solid four years of production, the Oilers will be glad they made this deal, even if it means paying more in the future.
Evan Bouchard Grade: A-
Edmonton Oilers Grade: B
