Oilers Extending Evan Bouchard Could Negatively Impact Offseason Plans

The Edmonton Oilers will look a little different in the 2025-26 season, as they seem likely to lose Viktor Arvidsson, Corey Perry, and Connor Brown as their cap situation forces them to look elsewhere for cheaper alternatives. While free agency is always an exciting time of the year for hockey fans, this has to be a nervous time for Oilers fans, who aren’t sure what the team has planned this offseason and may be surprised by the moves they make this summer. However, they did lock up defender Evan Bouchard on a four-year extension, which excited some fans, but some fans were shocked, while some were even angry.

Bouchard’s cap hit comes in at $10.5 million, which is likely what he’s worth on the open market in comparison to the rest of the league, but it’s still a hefty price tag. Fans seemed to be upset for a number of reasons. Firstly, the Oilers could have had a long-term extension done heading into the 2023-24 season and avoided this whole situation, but they didn’t, and now they have to shell out even more money to lock him down. Second, this gives the Oilers just over $500,000 in cap space to spend on new players. They will likely trade Arvidsson, and could even consider moving Adam Henrique, but they’re still in a tough spot. 

Bouchard’s extension coming in as high as it did could negatively impact the Oilers’ offseason, as it seems now that they may be even more cap-strapped heading into free agency. They have yet to make any moves that indicate they’re going to spend big to improve their team, which is a concern, especially considering what the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers have been able to pull off over the last couple of days. With a Connor McDavid extension pending as well, things don’t look great for the Oilers.

Problems Could Still Come From Extension, Options Still Available

Let’s be clear, the Oilers needed to get Bouchard locked down to an extension if they want to win a Stanley Cup. Without him, they don’t have a chance to do it. 

McDavid also said he wanted the Oilers to extend Bouchard, so getting this done likely entices him to sign a long-term extension this summer. It may take some extra maneuvering to get that done, considering it’ll be the largest contract in NHL history, but locking him down will be a key piece of work completed by the Oilers management, if they can get it done before the next season gets underway.