Edmonton Oilers Evan Bouchard © Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

Oilers sign defenceman Evan Bouchard to four-year, $10.5-million AAV extension

Originally posted on Oilersnation | By Zach Laing | Last updated Jun 30, 2025 4:30 PM ET

Evan Bouchard is here to stay — at least for four more years.

The Edmonton Oilers have signed him to a four-year contract carrying an annual average value of $10.5-million. Elite Prospects’ Cam Robinson was the first to report the deal, which was later confirmed by other reports.

Hearing Edmonton is finalizing an extension for Evan Bouchard

4 years x 10.5M per.

— Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) June 30, 2025

Drafted by the Oilers 10th overall in the 2018 draft, Bouchard has become one of the league’s premier offensive defenceman, scoring 52 goals and 232 points in 326 games over his four full seasons in the league. And while his .71 points-per-game rate in the regular season is a strong clip, he’s elevated his game in the playoffs in a big way.

Over those four same playoff campaigns, he’s racked up 20 goals and 81 points in 75 post-season games — a 1.08 points-per-game rate that’s tied with Cale Makar for the best among all NHL defenceman with over 75 games played. Only two other defencemen have had over a point-per-game with as many games played: Brian Leetch, who scored 28 goals and 97 points in 95 playoff games, and Paul Coffey, with 59 goals and 196 points in 194 games. Bouchard has the highest assists-per-game rate of the four, with a .81 mark.

Bouchard set the single playoff record for assists by a defenceman, totalling 26 in the Oilers’ 2024 run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup record.

This season, Bouchard appeared in all 82 regular season games, scoring 14 goals and 67 points, adding seven goals and 23 points in 22 playoff games.

His new deal will kick in next season and keep him from reaching free agency as a restricted free agent when the market opens Tuesday morning. It will walk him to free agency at 29-years-old, when he is set to be an unrestricted free agent.

While there had been a belief Bouchard would be signing a long-term deal with the Oilers, hockey insider Frank Seravalli reported Monday that the “price to get to eight years was a stretch Edmonton couldn’t commit to at this juncture.”

Oilers captain Connor McDavid was vocal about the team getting Bouchard locked up, saying in his final press conference of the season it’s “definitely a deal that needs to get done.”

According to PuckPedia, the Oilers now have $550,834 in salary cap space ahead of free agency. The team is expected to trade forward Viktor Arvidsson and his $4-million salary in the coming days, which will free up some space for them to make more moves.