Report: Edmonton Oilers, Evan Bouchard working on a short-term extension

A short-term extension for Evan Bouchard

The big piece of work that the Oilers need to deal with extending Evan Bouchard. The pending RFA is due for a big raise this summer from his current $$3.9M deal that expires July 1st, and with where the cap is expected to go and where other high-end offensive defencemen have been paid, expectations were that Bouchard could earn north of $$10M on his next deal.

However, on a shorter-term bridge deal, the Oilers could have him for less. This would be ideal for a team that has $$17M available in cap for this summer, and Bouchard and Trent Frederic as the two big names to sign. They also have a looming Connor McDavid extension to deal with before next July.

The risk with a short-term deal is that Bouchard becomes an unrestricted free agent in two years, and if the Oilers lock him up for a short deal of say 3–5 years, they run the risk of losing him for nothing when his deal ends, just like the Leafs are expected to with Mitch Marner in a few days. If the Oilers are still unsure of their former 2018 first-round pick, a bridge may make sense, but given his production, opting for a short-term deal may be a recipe for disaster.

What could Evan Bouchard’s next contract look like?

Realistically, even if Bouchard’s contract comes in shorter term, odds are it will still be over $$9M per season. This is a far cry from the $$11M that many are suggesting, but still a significant saving in the short term.

Time will tell how this all shakes out, but locking up Bouchard will be a nice bit of work from Stan Bowman and the Oilers management group if they can get this all done and dusted before the dog days of summer.