Evan Bouchard doesn’t believe he needs to radically overhaul his game, coming off a 95-point campaign. But the Edmonton Oilers‘ star blueliner also recognizes there’s always room for improvement.

A year ago, he said he needed to make his worst games better, rather than letting things snowball. He wanted to raise his floor. Coming into camp this season, his goal hasn’t changed much.

“There’s always work to do,” said Bouchard in his first media availability of training camp. “I think a lot of it’s not letting those mistakes pile up. Making the simple play, not always going for the home run play. I think I was caught doing that quite a bit last year, so I think if you can, not dumb it down, but simplify a little bit, it’ll help things.”

Last season, Bouchard took his offensive game to new heights. He registered 21 goals, 74 assists, and 95 points en route to a fourth-place finish in Norris Trophy voting. The offence, Bouchard says, will come. Now, he wants to focus on keeping the puck out of the net, starting by spending as little time as possible in his own end.

“I think a lot of it’s trying not to let the puck get in your zone,” he said. “Good gaps, denying the blue lines. If you can do that, transition the other way quickly, that’ll help. Even cutting plays off, get sprinting behind the net, cut that off quickly and get it going forward as quickly as you can.”

The Oilers overhauled their coaching staff this summer, replacing head coach Kris Knoblauch and assistant Mark Stuart with Mike Babcock and D.J. Smith. From their first conversations, Bouchard has an idea of what Babcock will bring to the team.

“You know what you’re getting with Babs,” said Bouchard. “He’s very direct. We’re going to be very organized. He doesn’t beat around the bush either, so I think that’s a good thing to have in a coach.”

When it comes to Bouchard’s game, it appears he and Babcock are on the same page.

“I think he made it clear he doesn’t want to change things with my game, but he wants to improve things, and I think that’s a very fair thing,” he said. “And having him around the league for a long, long time, I want to be coached by someone like that. I want someone that tells me what they think, and I think he’s going to do that with myself and with the rest of the group.”

D.J. Smith, meanwhile, is already familiar with Bouchard after coaching him at the World Championships just a few months ago.

“I’m excited for D.J. Like you said, I had him at Worlds. He was a very, very good coach, very open, very vocal. He told you what he thought. If he thinks you’ve got to improve in this area, he’ll help you do that and gives you a sense of comfort back there. He’s always going to have your back but expects a lot out of you, which is a good thing.”

Bouchard had a lot to be proud of last season. He set career highs across the board, had a six-point game, and even got himself into the Norris conversation. But this season, he’s focused on one thing: making the simple play.

We know what Bouchard’s ceiling can look like, but he believes 2026-27 can be the floor-raising season.

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