How the Oilers’ Evan Bouchard Situation Is Impacted by Jakob Chychrun’s Extension

The Washington Capitals reset the defence market on Tuesday (March 25) when they inked Jakob Chychrun to an eight-year deal with a $9 million cap hit. The Washington blueliner is having a great offensive season, recording 18 goals and 44 points through 66 games. He earned that new extension, but what does that deal mean for the Edmonton Oilers?

This signing is a big topic in Oil Country because the Oilers also have a young defenceman who needs a new contract – Evan Bouchard. Both players are comparable in terms of their roles and ages. Chychrun is 26 years old and has averaged 21:16 of ice time throughout his career, whereas Bouchard is 25, averaging 20:39 a game.

While Bouchard has defensive deficiencies, his elite offensive ability compensates for that. He is having an underwhelming season, but he should bounce back. He has 55 points in 70 games and still has more to give. We live and die by the sword, so while he isn’t great defensively, he makes up for it in other ways.

The organization has three options to handle this situation. They can sign him to another bridge deal, trade him, or sign him to a long-term extension. Given Chychrun’s extension, what should the Oilers do with Bouchard, and more importantly, what shouldn’t they do?

Oilers Shouldn’t Bridge Bouchard

The Oilers need to learn from their mistakes and avoid signing Bouchard to a bridge deal. A two-year contract may come with a cheaper cap hit in the short term, but it will walk him right to unrestricted free agency (UFA). If that’s the case, he will get paid on the open market when he’s only 28 years old. Edmonton will be better off signing him long-term as the salary cap continues to rise in the coming years.

The Oilers signed Darnell Nurse to bridge deals twice, and look at how that turned out. He signed a two-year deal with a $3.2 million cap hit in 2018 and then another two-year deal with a $5.6 million cap hit in 2020. Then, he had a breakout season, which resulted in a massive eight-year extension with a $9.25 million cap hit that runs through the 2029-30 season. Bouchard has already been bridged once at a very cheap cap hit of $3.9 million. So, it’s best to lock him up now, especially after a down season. If he bounces back after another bridge deal, he will probably command $12-$13 million on his next contract, and as a pending UFA, he would get that on the open market.

Oilers Shouldn’t Trade Bouchard

With the news of the Chychrun signing, many fans are clamouring for a trade because they don’t think Bouchard is worth that number. However, trading him would be a massive mistake. Elite, young, right-shot, offensive defencemen are rare, especially when drafted and developed by an organization. The Oilers must hang onto him. They will not win any trade with Bouchard involved. This type of deal will set the organization back many years and will close their Stanley Cup window extremely fast. They are in win-now mode with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and trading the Oilers’ best blueliner will make them worse.

Bouchard Will Get Paid More Than Chychrun

Oilers fans don’t want to hear this, but on a long-term extension, Bouchard will get paid more than Chychrun. Right-shot defencemen are more coveted, and Chychrun shoots left. The Oilers’ blueliner is also a year and a half younger (Chychrun turns 27 on March 31), which raises his value.