The recent signings of K'Andre Miller and Bowen Byram seem to have paved the way for what Evan Bouchard will earn on his next contract. Byram signed a two year deal with the Avalanche with an AAV of 3.85 million while K'Andre Miller signed a two year deal worth 3.872 million per season. Both players do not have arbitration rights and are good comparables for Bouchard in terms of ice time and production.

Recent reports (Jason Gregor) seem to suggest that Edmonton wants to try and sign Bouchard to a deal closer to 3.2 million. I just can't see that happening unless it is a one year deal that allows Bouchard a better negotiating stance a year from today.

I am already on the record as against bridge deals but with the cap situation the Oilers are currently in (one that is self inflicted), there doesn't seem to be any way to get a long term deal done now.

Whenever this deal ends for Bouchard, be it next season or the year after, his next contract is going to be a much bigger one. Obviously a full year on the top PP unit with McDavid and Draisaitl is going to help his production but for most of his young career thus far Bouchard has been an excellent producer at even strength as well.

In his first full season in 21/22 Bouchard went 9-22-31 at even strength. That was fourth on the Oilers in EV production and 11th in the NHL among defensemen, just a point behind Adam Fox. Not bad for his rookie season.

This past season was a tale of two halfs. Bouchard struggled in the first half of his sophomore season for reasons of his own doing as well as external factors such as his linemates (he played a fair amount with Kulak and Ryan Murray). In the first half of the season (38 games) Bouchard went 2-7-9 at even strength, 9th among all Oilers, 2nd among Oilers defenders and tied for 50th overall among NHL defensemen.

In the second half of the season, starting January 1st (44 games) Bouchard returned to his rookie season form with 5-20-25 at even strength. That was 7th among Oilers, still 2nd right behind Nurse and tied for 31st overall among all defensemen. Part of that was certainly being paired with Mattias Ekholm but credit to Bouchard for bouncing back and also being on the right side of puck luck once again.

Bouchard is far more than just a beneficiary of PP points. The Oilers need players on the backend who can pass the puck and put the forwards into positions where they can generate chances. These are all areas the Bouchard excels at. There are still some defensive issues but this is a young player who is improving with each year he plays and now looks like he has found great chemistry with a strong two way defender who can cover up some of those lapses.

I will not be shocked when Bouchard puts up 70 or 80 points next season with a healthy mix of powerplay and even strength production. The best case scenario for the Oilers right now is a two year deal because the minute his next contract expires, he is going to be a 6 or 7 million dollar player at bare minimum.

Thanks for reading.

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