The last piece of Oilers work on Holland's To-Do list looks to be complete as it's being reported that Evan Bouchard has signed a 2 year deal worth 3.9 million a season.
Bouchard had a phenomenal first full season in the NHL in 21/22, putting up 43 points (12-31-43). While now it's easy to think of him as simply a PP specialist, Bouch put up 10 EV goals and 25 EV assists, averaging almost 20 minutes a game in predominantly a third pairing role.
Last season Bouch was elevated in the lineup and struggled in the first half of the season. The puck wasn't going in the net and there were defensive issues. While blame does rest of Bouch, he was also playing much of his minutes with Ryan Murray early and Brett Kulak who is a strong third pairing player but struggled in a top 4 position.
Two factors helped Bouchard in the second half of the season. The first was simply puck luck as his abnormally low PDO and SH% started to lean towards his prior numbers and being paired with a legitimate top pairing defender in Mattias Ekholm. The Ekholm-Bouch pairing become the Oilers best possession pairing and the Oilers best option at either end of the ice.
Of course with all of this also came Bouchard becoming the Oilers top powerplay defenseman after Tyson Barrie was traded. Bouchard quickly put to rest any of the unfounded beliefs that Barrie was a better PP option by helping Edmonton's powerplay produce even more. Edmonton now has a top 4 right shot defenseman that will only continue to improve in his own zone, locked up for the next 2 seasons.
It is what happens after these seasons that will be an issue for the Oilers. The Oilers bridged Darnell Nurse twice, ending with a career year that forced the team into overpaying heavily on a long term deal. Bouch has the potential to put up 65+ points a season over the next two years... potentially more. Once again, Ken Holland has failed to lock up a young talented player on a long term deal and will be forced to either pay full price in a couple years or be forced to trade him elsewhere.
For the next two seasons this is good news and allows the Oilers to compete for a Cup. Whoever is GM after Holland though is going to have their work cut out for them. Hopefully the hiring of Jeff Jackson will signal a modern change for the organization and bring in a new GM able to handle those negotiations.
Thanks for reading!
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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