Speculation: Evan Bouchard asking $11M AAV on his next deal

[VainGretzky]

Two of them are Norris trophy D-man the other is a two way stud

I will make a list of Dman better than Bouchard

Makar
Hughes
Josi
Fox
Mcavoy
Heiskanen
Slavin
Dobson
Morrisey

I consider all of these better than Bouchard, Makar, Josi and Hughes would all put up just as much if not better numbers on that Oilers PP

that's fine but you get paid for production in this League and since Barrie was traded Bouchard has the highest ppg than any man in the league Bouchard 1.19 PPG Makar 1.17 Makar plays with superstars as well and half you list is laughable

 

[McJedi]

Drai's deal wasn't that hard to nail when we were speculating on his AAV so I'll take a crack at this one too.

$10.33MM AAV x 8 years.

Bouchard is a very good player and he's worth every penny of that. Easy top 10 Defender for me.

 

[madmike77]

It was always likely going to be between 10 and 11, so I don't see 11 being a huge issue.

The cap has gone up and will go up again. All the players and agents know this, so their asks are going to be higher. Comparing a new contract to guys who are already signed long-term doesn't tell the whole story.

 

[ManofSteel55]

I believe this is the last year that the Oilers have a chance to win it all unless they can unload Nurse after this year their $$$ for depth is going to be very hard to have quality.

The salary cap is going up every year. Nurse's cap hit is a lower percentage of the overall cap every year. Every year, that contract becomes slightly less of a problem - unless Nurse's play falls off a cliff (and I know some would say it has).

I agree that unloading him would be ideal. Well, ideal would be that he figures out his consistency issues and becomes the top pair defenseman he was signed to be, but I digress.

 

[Breakers]

that's fine but you get paid for production in this League and since Barrie was traded Bouchard has the highest ppg than any man in the league Bouchard 1.19 PPG Makar 1.17 Makar plays with superstars as well and half you list is laughable

wrong

 

[jackjohnson]

Damn. That's a tough pill for the Oil. Gonna be paying 40 mil for 3 guys.

More like 50 for 4 guys for 6 or more years

Hell get 10. Cap will be 100 in 2 years. Doesnt matter. You can still fill out a great team with 60 mill

Newsflash: Nurse is still on the team, untradeable and still making $9.25 mil per year for 6 more years. So more like 50 mil left to fill the rest of the team.

 

[EdmFlyersfan]

Bouch has a floor of $10M, his agent will want him to be paid more than Nurse. Since Drai didn't take any hometown discount we can assume Bouch will not either, so you are looking at probably at least $10.5M...some team might be willing to pay him $12M so then maybe Oilers end up paying him $11.25M to keep him happy.

 

[jackjohnson]

I was told all of last year he's a top 5 dman in the league, can't wait to see him get paid like one! I wonder if his agent just pulls up Twitter receipts to use as a negotiation tactic lmao

I heard from oilers fans he is better than Hughes so 11 million is a bragain. He should make 15 million if he is better than Hughes the Norris winner already

 

[VeteranPresence]

More like 50 for 4 guys for 6 or more years


Newsflash: Nurse is still on the team, untradeable and still making $9.25 mil per year for 6 more years. So more like 50 mil left to fill the rest of the team.

Imagine paying that much to guys who don't deliver in the playoffs, like say, EP. Oh wait...

 

[jackjohnson]

I would just offer him 2 yrs x 8 per. Tell him he’s leaving a little on the table for the opportunity to have earliest available UFA status. If his defensive game grows then he’s worth 11 (or more). But if it stays the same and he’s just a real good offensive Dman, then he can be someone else’s contract mistake.

Then who will replace Bouchard? Nurse?? Broberg? Whoops he has been traded already. 50 year old Ekholm? Kulak?

 

[WTG]

Drai's deal wasn't that hard to nail when we were speculating on his AAV so I'll take a crack at this one too.

$10.33MM AAV x 8 years.

Bouchard is a very good player and he's worth every penny of that. Easy top 10 Defender for me.

I think that's more than fair for a player like Bouchard. He's 24 years old so entering his prime. Paying for a #1 defenseman the same as a top end #1c would make isn't outragious. Although you do have to fill out the rest of the team with some bargains and I do wonder if the Oilers will run into cap issues by the fact that they are trading a lot of youth capital. Need some more ELCs or bargains like Hyman and Bouchard (for what he's currently getting paid).

I don't see the ask as crazy as people in this thread make it out to be. Nurse will probably have to get moved sooner or later which means picks out rather than in IMO.

 

[jackjohnson]

Hoping for 8 x 8 personally and I'm a huge Bouch fan.lol

8 x 8? With the rising cap and Nurse making 9.25 mil a year still on the team? Impossible
Hronek is making 7.5 mil and you guys said Bouch is better than Hughes so why would he make Hronek money??

At the end of the day, if you have a team with mcdavid and drai on it you are a cup contender. The other players are just filler at that point.

I dont think so. This is the very reason why Oilers still dont have a cup with McDavid and Drai on the team for 7 years now

 

[jackjohnson]

If the pylon in human form Nurse signed for $9Mill+, Bouchard should demand at least $15M++.

Bet if Hronek was re-signing with the Oilers, he would get 10 mil because of Nurse contract used as a measuring stick

Nurse contract is the gift that keeps on giving

You will see 4th liners and bottom pairing D point to nurse contract in future when they want to re-sign with oilers

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

The only way the cap rise will be that low is if magic wundervirus COVID 2.0 happens, 2.5 mill-ish raise per year is extremely low.

Inflation (I'm guessing many people actually don't properly understand this) is a thing for starters. Everything is more expensive at all these sports events, on what planet is anyone paying the same price for a ticket, jersey, beer, hot dog, parking, etc. etc. at any of these events? Even going to the movies is way higher than 5 years ago, that's not going to stop. Utah will earn more revenue than the peanuts Arizona was bringing in, there's a Five Nations Tournament too ... there's no way the cap rise will be 2 million next season after going up 4 this year.

The year after that the Canadian TV deal expires and likely the NHL is going to get the largest TV deal in their history. There's no way that's going to just be a ho-hum 2.5 million rise as well.

You're assigning magical value to the number 100 million thinking it's something special and thus requires some special effort to get to, it's not, it's just a number like 99 or 101 or 102 or 98.

I would say 3.5-4 million salary cap rise for next season, followed by probably a larger bump because of the TV deal the year after, maybe 5+ million, you're already very close to 100 million in just 2 years.

I always get a kick out of people who pretend they know what they're talking about


If the cap went up $4M every year, it would still take 4 more years before the cap reached $100M in 2027-28.

And its a mighty big assumption to believe the cap will go up at a rate of $4M every year for the next 4 years, with the looming CBA, the unknowns of a TV deal(The ongoing situation with Sportsnet actually paints a pretty bad picture for that contract despite your beliefs) negotiations and the players constant unwillingness to use the accelerator.


A $100M cap hit in 2 years is just pure fantasy land. There's a chance they reach $100M in 4 years, but a lot of things would have to go right for the league over those 4 years to hit that mark. Possible, but not a slam dunk by any means.

 

[jackjohnson]

11m for an average defensive d-man, whos getting points because of the big 2.

They did not learn with Nurse?
Bouchard is not a bad player but above 8m , that's horrendous

He is not a defensive dman

 

[andora]

Sign it edmonton

Do it

 

[jackjohnson]

Florida barkov 10, bob 10 ktachuk 9.5

McDavid 15 pending, Drai 14, Bouchard 11 and Nurse 9.25
Thats 20 mil difference only adding Nurse to the equation

 

[Connor McConnor]

Everyone remember Tyson Barrie was on pace for 70 points running that PP and being able to give breakout passes to McDavid or Draisiatl. Bouchard is a better and younger player, but in no universe should he be compared to the big boy defensemen of this league yet. There is and should be a huge asterisk running that PP.

He had the 5th most ESP for all Dmen last year in RS and led the league for playoffs. What are you even talking about with these old narratives?

 

[jackjohnson]

11 million take about 3 million off and be closer. Don't think he's worth 9 million but if you double his salary it's close to 8 million. I think 7-8.5 million range probably be more closer.

You are joking right? 7 mil? When Hronek just signed 7.5 mil and zadorov signed 5 mil? You expect Bouchard to sign for 7 to 8.5 mil next year when cap goes even higher?

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

He and his agent would be crazy not to after last season.

 

[jackjohnson]

Dahlin is probably a better all around player than Hughes, he's just stuck on a shit team. Dahlin on the Oilers would win the Norris trophy.



I'd consider it. I like Bouchard, but Shesterkin + McDavid + Draisaitl? Yeah, pretty sure you can then move Skinner for your standard PPQB type.

I still see the 18 year old Dahlin hype still continuing on these boards. If he was so good, you would think he would at least win one Norris like Fox, Makar and Hughes. The most overhyped dman on these boards still going by their predraft hype more than accomplishment on the ice.

Imagine paying that much to guys who don't deliver in the playoffs, like say, EP. Oh wait...

Yes, since Nurse delivered a lot in the playoffs. Well maybe he delivered lots of pizzas on the ice for freebie goals.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

He is not a defensive dman

then u dont pay dman 12m whos cant play defensively

 

[VeteranPresence]

Yes, since Nurse delivered a lot in the playoffs. Well maybe he delivered lots of pizzas on the ice for freebie goals.

Psst... Nurse had more goals than EP in the playoffs.

 

[boredmale]

Ask 11, get 9

 

[WhataKnight]

Asking $11M on a team with Edmonton’s cap structure……???

Seriously, bro?