On the heels of Leon Draisaitl’s eight-year contract extension (with a $14 million common annual worth), the Edmonton Oilers turned their consideration to Evan Bouchard. Bouchard is getting into the ultimate season of his two-year, $3.9 million AAV bridge deal signed in August 2023.
The star blueliner is coming off an amazing season, which noticed him end fourth amongst defensemen with 82 factors. He additionally added 32 factors throughout the Oilers’ deep playoff run. The 24-year-old additionally averaged 23 minutes an evening final season whereas quarterbacking Edmonton’s deadly energy play.
Bouchard will receives a commission as one of many premier offensive defensemen within the NHL. His subsequent deal will undoubtedly exceed a $10 million AAV, making him among the many highest-paid defensemen within the league. The one defensemen making over $10 million are Erik Karlsson, Rasmus Dahlin, and Drew Doughty. This places the Oilers in a tough state of affairs with their 2018 first-round decide.
Oilers Wage Cap Issues
Despite the fact that a long-term extension would have been higher than his present bridge deal, was it believable? It might have been if the Oilers had managed the wage cap higher. Bouchard was coming off his entry-level contract (ELC) and was eligible to signal an extension in the summertime of 2022, the identical summer time the Oilers inked goaltender Jack Campbell to a five-year, $25 million contract.
That was a dreadful deal, and Campbell was purchased out two years later. Whereas the Oilers desperately wanted goaltending at the moment, that they had Stuart Skinner ready to interrupt out, so Campbell’s time period and wage made no sense, which remains to be the case. Campbell might be on the books for six extra seasons after the buyout. With out that contract, the Oilers may have prolonged Bouchard long-term with ease. That was a significant blunder by former basic supervisor Ken Holland.
Associated: Predicting Evan Bouchard’s Subsequent Contract with the Oilers
One other notoriously dangerous contact is Darnell Nurse, who inked an eight-year, $74 million extension on Aug. 6, 2021. This contract may hinder the group for years if it hasn’t already. If he had signed long-term as a substitute of agreeing to a number of bridge offers, he may even have been paid what he was price, which is roughly $6 million per 12 months based mostly on his manufacturing. He needs to be in the identical pay vary as his teammate, Mattias Ekholm, and different high-profile blueliners like Kris Letang, Travis Sanheim, Cam Fowler, Torey Krug and Jaccob Slavin. As an alternative, he’s being paid in the identical vary as elite blueliners like Adam Fox, Cale Makar and Roman Josi.
This deal has hindered the Oilers’ skill to signal gamers and make trades. Administration must make strikes as a way to dump wage whereas not making the crew worse. That’s an extremely tough place to be in whereas making an attempt to compete for the Stanley Cup and the group solely has themselves accountable. The Oilers’ fixed mismanagement of the wage cap is clear, and Bouchard’s present contract state of affairs is a results of that.
Whereas a short-term deal made sense as a consequence of wage cap restrictions, the Oilers would have been higher off locking up Bouchard to an eight-year deal, much like Draisaitl’s first main extension in 2017 when he acquired an eight-year take care of an $8.5 million AAV. Many followers thought he was overpaid on the time, however that contract aged superbly. He is without doubt one of the greatest gamers within the league and on the most effective contracts within the league.
Oilers Made the Unsuitable Determination
Nonetheless, the Oilers determined to go the Nurse route with Bouchard as a substitute of the Draisaitl one. In 2018, the Oilers signed Nurse to a two-year bridge deal with an AAV of $3.2 million. When that expired, they signed him to a different two-year take care of an AAV of $5.6 million. They lastly locked him up on an eight-year monster contract extension with an AAV of $9.25 million that runs via the 2029-2030 season.
Like Bouchard, earlier than signing that long-term extension, Nurse had a profession 12 months, recording 16 targets and 36 factors in a shortened 56-game marketing campaign because of the pandemic. Now, Nurse is arguably probably the most overpaid participant within the league. Bouchard is the same state of affairs. He’s coming off a career-high 82 factors in solely his third full season within the NHL. Nonetheless, he solely registered a mixed 83 factors in his first two campaigns. Whereas he’s miles higher than Nurse, he has just one good offensive season below his belt. Is he price north of $10 million at this level in his profession?
If managed had signed Bouchard long-term in 2022, the AAV would have been roughly $7-$8.5 million, which is far decrease than the projected $10-plus million he’ll get now. This might have put him in the identical wage class as Quinn Hughes, Miro Heiskanen, Victor Hedman, and Morgan Rielly. Whereas it will have been an overpay in 12 months one, it will have aged like Draisaitl’s first extension, if not higher.
Bouchard is the cornerstone of the Oilers’ blue line and can get a large pay day. Nonetheless, one can’t assist however look again on what may have been. If administration had taken a proactive method, he would have been on a team-friendly deal for a few years as a substitute of this two-year bridge deal adopted by the monster deal he’ll quickly obtain. Finally, the Oilers higher hope the wage cap continues to extend at a fast tempo, particularly in the event that they need to afford their star gamers whereas nonetheless making an attempt so as to add to a championship lineup.