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Edmonton Oilers Screwed Over by Carolina on Evan Bouchard Contract, Per Elliotte Friedman

Originally posted on House of Hockey | By Tom Banks | Last updated Jul 6, 2025 12:49 PM ET

Evan Bouchard signed a huge deal this off-season already, and now it's been revealed just how the Carolina Hurricanes forced the Oilers hand in this situation, reportedly threatening them with a dreaded offer sheet.

Last summer, the Edmonton Oilers were the victims of not just one, but two offer sheets, losing both Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg in the process as they refused to match them on that.

This off-season, they had just one player vulnerable to an offer sheet, and that was defenseman Evan Bouchard, who they quickly moved to lock down to a four-year, $10.5 million AAV extension.

The reason why the deal got done so quickly? An offer sheet threat, according to Elliotte Friedman.

According to Friedman's latest report, it was Eric Tulsky and the Carolina Hurricanes that threatened an offer sheet on Bouchard, and while the Oilers would have likely matched it, it makes sense for the team to move to lock him down on a new deal of their own.

'The reason the Evan Bouchard deal got done in Edmonton so quickly is because they threatened an offer sheet.'

This was reportedly not the only time Carolina did this, as they threatened the New York Rangers with an offer sheet of K'Andre Miller, but instead, the two sides worked out a deal, with the defenseman going on to ink a long-term extension with the Hurricanes in the process.

Ultimately, after last year, it's easy to see why the Oilers wouldn't want any more offer sheet drama, and so, the smart move was to quickly lock Bouchard down to a massive deal, and now, they head into the 2025/26 campaign with no worries about another offer sheet anytime soon.

This article first appeared on House of Hockey and was syndicated with permission.

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