2024–25 Edmonton Oilers player grade: Evan Bouchard

Strengths for Bouchard

In a word, offence. Famous for his patented “Bouch Bombs,” Bouchard is a unique threat with his shot alone. While the lost art of the slap shot is the headliner, Bouchard’s wrist shot is equally dangerous. Of course, the high octane attack that Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl provide makes a difference here, but Bouchard is full value as an elite power play quarterback who can handle top pairing minutes. On top of it all, his right shot makes Bouchard an extremely rare talent at a premium position, obvious from a distance.

The flash is incredible, but Bouchard backs it up in several meaningful ways. Bouchard is consistently excelling in control of play metrics, oftentimes dominating play. His passing is daring and functional, able to spring the attack at a high level. While Bouchard is effective at generating individual offence, he helps his teammates generate more offence as well. Bouchard has what it takes to turn puck retrievals into transition attack at an elite level. Perhaps most importantly, Bouchard has now proven himself as a prolific playoff performer.

Bouchard has risen to the occasion on the highest of stages, collecting gaudy totals and reaching two Stanley Cup Final appearances. Not every skilled player can claim the same, so Bouchard earning this reputation is well deserved. By most counts Bouchard is the Oilers third best player today, a core reason for their recent successes.

Bouchard’s weaknesses

Perfection itself might not exist at all, and so even the best players are without shortcomings. Still, Bouchard’s flaws are more pronounced than most elite players’ are. As much as his awesome heights are obvious from afar, so too are his lows. Fans might go as far as to call Bouchard’s play frustrating or baffling at times. The minutiae of his defensive game are forthcoming, but Bouchard still brings a lot to the table. Still, even if his defensive game is being sheltered there is a significant track record of high level play. He has size to work with.

That being said, Bouchard is prone to his share of garish errors. In some ways, his positives attributes make these tougher moments all the more frustrating. Though Bouchard is a wizard with the puck, he seems to cough up some horrid giveaways. Despite his size Bouchard is not always as physical, which historically has been held against him. At times, Bouchard is even seen as nonchalant as the Oilers concede a goal. Even the biggest Bouchard supporters have to admit that the visuals are not always pretty. Even as a draft eligible prospect the spectre of the descriptions like “big for nothing” or “gentle” fuelled doubters.

As much as there have been fair criticisms, it should be noted that Bouchard has consistently shown up when the lights were bright. This includes an increased physicality and intensity in the playoffs, where Bouchard has proven himself. Defencemen make mistakes, and these often carry more dire and direct consequences than those of a forward. Defencemen who are expected to attack ambitiously are even more prone. There should be some level of grace for Bouchard in this area, but he can be better.

Then again, as Bouchard earnestly pushes to the NHL’s elite there is a high standard. With his new $10.5M contract that brings him to UFA status, the Oilers and Bouchard clearly share that view. Bouchard is a high level, dynamic force, but he will require a defensive partner that brings a level of strength, toughness, and defensively sound play to support his shortcomings.

Performance review

Down from 82 points in 2023–24, Bouchard still mustered 67 points this past regular season. Perhaps he might be able to hit 20 goals at some point in his career, expectations should be closer to 15 on average. Interestingly, Bouchard scored only three power play goals in 2024–25, accounting for his drop in this category.

His work in the playoffs was impressive once again. His playoff totals dropped from 32 in the 2024–25 playoffs to 23 in the 2024–25 playoffs. The drop here was mostly with power play assists, as the Oilers will be hard pressed to live up to the dominance of their special teams during their 2023–24 playoff run.

Once again, Bouchard is clearly playing at a high level, but it’s possible that 2024–25 constituted a weaker season for Bouchard. Notably, his giveaway stats were far worse, ballooning from 82 to 128 across the past two regular seasons, as well as nearly doubling from 22 to 41 in the playoffs. Still, Oil Country got an encouraging silver lining from Ekholm’s time-out with injury, as Bouchard proved he could handle the same role with other partners.

Letter grade: A

Bouchard is an elite player contributing at a high level. He is fundamental to the Oilers identity. He is clearly an A-lister, as few defencemen could replicate his overall effectiveness from last season. Bouchard can be better, and while no plus is deserved, a minus would be too harsh.

Expectations for the upcoming season

Perhaps his luck, or PDO, will bounce back in his favour next season, but he still logged a huge role at a high level on a strong team. There will be an expectation for Bouchard to continue his sterling production in the regular season and the playoffs. He will play top minutes in a more sheltered offensive role, padding his icetime stats with long shifts on the power play or late in games when trailing.

As production goes, Bouchard should be penciled in for 15 goals and 75 points. Bouchard has emerged as the Oilers best hope for a Norris Trophy, but he will likely need to eclipse 90 points and lead the league in scoring for a defenceman to receive a legitimate shot at the award.

The biggest area of growth to watch for will be how much Bouchard is used on the penalty kill. While it is prudent to deploy Bouchard in advantageous offensive situations, the Oilers are short on obvious penalty killers on the right side. It seems that only one of Troy Stecher, Ty Emberson, or hopefuls like Alec Regula are expected to be in the lineup at full health, meaning that the Oilers will be forced into playing a left shot defender on their weak side as a regular penalty killer.

It is unlikely that Bouchard ever eliminates enough risks from his game to be relied upon in a heavy defensive usage. Some of his mistakes can certainly be mitigated, but in reality Bouchard’s strengths stem from ambitious or risky offensive plays. Fans will need to live with his mistakes, but that should not come at the expense of appreciating the elite aspects of Bouchard’s game.