Evan Bouchard has signed his big-ticket extension with the Edmonton Oilers.
While it’s a shorter-term deal than the maximum eight-year term many expected, he’ll earn $42 million over the next four years.
Before the signing, there was plenty of debate among fans about what Bouchard’s next contract should look like. Some argued he didn’t even deserve top-pairing money due to his defensive lapses and turnover issues. Others felt his offensive upside and elite puck-moving ability justified a high price tag.
Naturally, social media lit up with reactions after the deal was announced.
“If you’re an Oilers fan and don’t like the Bouchard deal, hand in your sweater.” – Ryan Whitney via X“Great to see him signed, and he’s well worth this AAV, but the term is disappointing. Though, perhaps the bright side is that it puts more pressure on the organization to find some way to move Nurse.” – NHL_Sid via X“Bouchard is worth every penny. He’s arguably the best puck-moving D-man in the NHL right now. Glad he’s sticking around!” – PoppaRusty via X“Sounds like Bouch 10.5×4 is confirmed. Great deal for the player and I’m happy as a major Bouch fan, but angry that piss-poor management of bridging Nurse and Bouch led one into an atrocious 9.25×8 and the other into 10.5×4 versus 10.5×8.” – Raghu Sharma via X“Pure value for that deal, but before the Dobson signing, that AAV may have been available for eight years. Bouchard is certainly worth more than $1MM more than Dobson.” – OriginalPouzar via X“They just gave all of their cap space to a turnover machine.” – Perry Martin via Facebook“If Makar is called the best in the league… the defensive liability is not even on the same planet. The Cup window is officially slammed shut. No Brown, no Perry, gave away Kane for a bag of pucks, the complete failure losing Holloway and Broberg… the comically bad Arvidsson for Foegele trade—management destroyed this team. They are screwed. 97 should walk away. There is ZERO chance this team wins a Cup.” – Derrick Preston via Facebook“$10.5 million is a steal AAV for the Oilers with Evan Bouchard… the problem, though, is that four years is not enough. He’s going to be a UFA at 29. Why couldn’t they lock him up long-term if he was getting $10+M anyways? Term keeps the AAV down.” – Austin Hockey via X“It’s crazy how many people don’t actually know a thing about hockey. He would have been offer-sheeted for more than this tomorrow, and we would have had to match $11M+ or let him walk…” – w250_ty via Instagram“I know it’s terrible team-wise compared to $10.5×8, but he gets to get paid more when the cap goes up. I’d expect McDavid and Bouchard both to do this.” – TheLineBlender via X
There appears to be a clear split in opinion. Critics see Bouchard as a defensive liability and a turnover machine. And yes, he does cough up the puck often, but so do many of the NHL’s elite defencemen. According to StatMuse, only Erik Karlsson (140) and MacKenzie Weegar (159) had more turnovers than Bouchard (128) last regular season.
That said, Bouchard logs big minutes against top competition and is trusted to move the puck more than most. With that role comes risk. Right-shot puck-moving defencemen are rare commodities, and as one fan noted, if Edmonton hadn’t signed him, another team likely would’ve offered even more.
And for those worried McDavid will leave because of this deal, don’t be. In his end-of-season media availability, the captain made it clear that re-signing Bouchard was a priority.
Some argue Bouchard’s production is inflated by playing with McDavid and Draisaitl. But the reverse is also true. Edmonton’s star forwards benefit from his ability to transition the puck and make plays from the backend.
With this extension, Bouchard remains one of the most polarizing figures in the Oilers fanbase. His mistakes will continue to frustrate critics. But to the Oilers organization, he’s a core piece of the puzzle as they chase a Stanley Cup.
