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

[Kshahdoo]

He’s hasn’t been ass though. He hasn’t been at the same level as last year, but even “bad” he’s pacing for 50 points and creates more than it gives up.

As an Oilers fan I wouldn’t remotely consider trading him for Guhle or Hutson. Not even with a sizeable plus, and that’s ignoring positional needs too. All things considered even Guhle AND Hutson might not be enough, when you take his playoff performances into account.

Bouchard now with 1+1 in the first against Ottawa, BTW.

Is it a problem though? You'll pay him $10M/yeah and then be happy for all his contract long. Like you're happy with Nurse...

 

[ChaoticOrange]

I hate both teams. If Montreal offered Guhle you should absolutely take it. He's going to be a top 4 well rounded defenseman. Anyone above average offensively can put up big numbers on that Oilers PP. Paying Bouchard is what will ensure the Oilers don't win a cup.

Where is Guhle playing? He's a lefty. He's not playing over Ekholm. We have 9.25 sunk into Nurse. We have Kulak playing well. Why would we trade a top pairing right handed defenceman for a guy that will top out as a "top four well rounded" defenceman?

Creating offense is the hardest thing in the league to do. Well rounded top four D are a dime a dozen.

If Edmonton doesn't win a Cup it's because Holland blew up our cap paying guys like Nurse and Campbell and Kane.

Is it a problem though? You'll pay him $10M/yeah and then be happy for all his contract long. Like you're happy with Nurse...

When has Darnell Nurse looked even a fraction as good as Bouchard? Never. He can't hold his jock offensively and has never put up anything close to his underlying numbers.

"Well you gave one guy a big contract and it didn't work out" is such a silly argument. And it's in extreme bad faith coming from fans of a team TRYING TO TRADE FOR HIM "don't give that top 5 Norris finisher a big contract! Trade him to us cheap so WE can give him a big contract!"

 

[Topcheese31]

Where is Guhle playing? He's a lefty. He's not playing over Ekholm. We have 9.25 sunk into Nurse. We have Kulak playing well. Why would we trade a top pairing right handed defenceman for a guy that will top out as a "top four well rounded" defenceman?

Creating offense is the hardest thing in the league to do. Well rounded top four D are a dime a dozen.

If Edmonton doesn't win a Cup it's because Holland blew up our cap paying guys like Nurse and Campbell and Kane.


When has Darnell Nurse looked even a fraction as good as Bouchard? Never. He can't hold his jock offensively and has never put up anything close to his underlying numbers.

"Well you gave one guy a big contract and it didn't work out" is such a silly argument. And it's in extreme bad faith coming from fans of a team TRYING TO TRADE FOR HIM "don't give that top 5 Norris finisher a big contract! Trade him to us cheap so WE can give him a big contract!"

I prefer Guhle than Bouchard to be honest. Bouchard situation give me Klingberg vide. I don't think the 8X11M would end well. If I were Edmonton I would trade him to a team that is ready to overpaid for him.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

I prefer Guhle than Bouchard to be honest. Bouchard situation give me Klingberg vide. I don't think the 8X11M would end well. If I were Edmonton I would trade him to a team that is ready to overpaid for him.

Last season:

Guhle was on for 48 goals for and 59 against.
Bouchard was on for 94 goals for an 58 against.

Guhle was on for 193 high danger chances for and 237 against.
Bouchard was on for 399 high danger chances for and 229 against.

The fun part for Bouchard is he puts up great numbers no matter who he plays with. Top 5 league wide among D in pretty much every metric you can look at. Even this year.

Bouchard's the better and more valuable D and Edmonton would be insane to trade Bouchard for Guhle. "But Guhle will be cheaper!" Yes, because he's not as good or as dynamic.

 

[34]

Nurse at $9.25M and Bouchard at $11M.

Just….yeah

 

[Breakers]

Nurse at $9.25M and Bouchard at $11M.

I don’t think bouchard gets there

He just has a very nice benefit of knowing his floor for a contract which is as you mentioned Nurse

 

[34]

I don’t think bouchard gets there

He just has a very nice benefit of knowing his floor for a contract which is as you mentioned Nurse

Will be the most expensive 3rd pairing D pair in the league.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Will be the most expensive 3rd pairing D pair in the league.

He makes Morgan Rielly look like Carl Gunnarsson glass houses, etc.

 

[34]

He makes Morgan Rielly look like Carl Gunnarsson glass houses, etc.

Hahaha

Yeah right.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Last season:

Guhle was on for 48 goals for and 59 against.
Bouchard was on for 94 goals for an 58 against.

Guhle was on for 193 high danger chances for and 237 against.
Bouchard was on for 399 high danger chances for and 229 against.

The fun part for Bouchard is he puts up great numbers no matter who he plays with. Top 5 league wide among D in pretty much every metric you can look at. Even this year.

Bouchard's the better and more valuable D and Edmonton would be insane to trade Bouchard for Guhle. "But Guhle will be cheaper!" Yes, because he's not as good or as dynamic.

That’s seems like a poor argument
There is 110 difference in goal differential between the 2 teams.
One team is +57 goal differential
The other -53

Not to mention one had 35 points on PP
The other had 0

 

[Double Dion]

Where is Guhle playing? He's a lefty. He's not playing over Ekholm. We have 9.25 sunk into Nurse. We have Kulak playing well. Why would we trade a top pairing right handed defenceman for a guy that will top out as a "top four well rounded" defenceman?

Creating offense is the hardest thing in the league to do. Well rounded top four D are a dime a dozen.

If Edmonton doesn't win a Cup it's because Holland blew up our cap paying guys like Nurse and Campbell and Kane.


When has Darnell Nurse looked even a fraction as good as Bouchard? Never. He can't hold his jock offensively and has never put up anything close to his underlying numbers.

"Well you gave one guy a big contract and it didn't work out" is such a silly argument. And it's in extreme bad faith coming from fans of a team TRYING TO TRADE FOR HIM "don't give that top 5 Norris finisher a big contract! Trade him to us cheap so WE can give him a big contract!"

I guess we disagree on what Bouchard is. I think he's a bottom pairing defenseman, not a top pairing one. He can't defend at all. He's a #1 offensively, but he doesn't even remotely resemble a top 4 defender to my eye. He's a worse defender than either guy on our bottom pairing and they're both 6/7 types at best

 

[3headeddragon]

Nurse at $9.25M and Bouchard at $11M.

Just….yeah

I think Edmonton should do it

 

[GrumpyKoala]

I would like to personally thanks the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 15% discount

https://x.com/i/web/status/1857979557204144473

 

[viceroy]

I would like to personally thanks the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 15% discount

https://x.com/i/web/status/1857979557204144473

Maybe his hockey IQ being so high he knew he couldn't catch up to McMann so he decided to conserve energy? Anywho not a fan of Bouchard's game, not even last year when everyone was riding his "expletive deleted."

 

[ChaoticOrange]

That’s seems like a poor argument
There is 110 difference in goal differential between the 2 teams.
One team is +57 goal differential
The other -53

Not to mention one had 35 points on PP
The other had 0

Oilers are +57 goal differential because of guys like Bouchard. If Montreal's defencemen were as good as the fanbase seems to think, maybe they wouldn't get their heads kicked in defensively every night.

After all according to you guys Guhle is awesome and Matheson is awesome and Xhekaj is the next Chara and Struble is worth Bouchard and Savard is worth a first and Hutson is better than Bouchard already so surely with all those phenomenal defencemen Montreal is a juggernaut, right?

Guhle isn't on the powerplay because he's not good at it. Never been his game.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Oilers are +57 goal differential because of guys like Bouchard. If Montreal's defencemen were as good as the fanbase seems to think, maybe they wouldn't get their heads kicked in defensively every night.

After all according to you guys Guhle is awesome and Matheson is awesome and Xhekaj is the next Chara and Struble is worth Bouchard and Savard is worth a first and Hutson is better than Bouchard already so surely with all those phenomenal defencemen Montreal is a juggernaut, right?

Guhle isn't on the powerplay because he's not good at it. Never been his game.

Ya when using 35 more points on the PP makes it poor when showing goals for vs against.
If you showed 5 on 5 differential would have been better. Especially when one player gets no PP time

 

[Maple Leaf]

more like 1.1M

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Ya when using 35 more points on the PP makes it poor when showing goals for vs against.
If you showed 5 on 5 differential would have been better. Especially when one player gets no PP time

that WAS 5v5 differential, smart guy.

Bouchard's all situations splits last year were 169-78. 5v5 was 94-58.

This is what I'm talking about when I say that Bouchard is madly underrated. His numbers are so good people assume that powerplay time has to be included, but he's just that dominant 5v5, even if he does make a mistake here and there.

 

[ManofSteel55]

Nurse at $9.25M and Bouchard at $11M.

Just….yeah

Negotiations always start with each side asking for a ridiculous amount. If 11 is Bouchard's ridiculous amount, we're likely looking at 9.5 or so for him.

that WAS 5v5 differential, smart guy.

Bouchard's all situations splits last year were 169-78. 5v5 was 94-58.

This is what I'm talking about when I say that Bouchard is madly underrated. His numbers are so good people assume that powerplay time has to be included, but he's just that dominant 5v5, even if he does make a mistake here and there.

This is the issue with a lot of casual fans or fans of other teams evaluating players they only see a couple of times a year and on highlight reels. It's the same reason so many people think Nurse sucks. They make the odd highlight reel mistake, but for Bouchard especially, people only see the mistake, and don't see the amazing play he puts up regularly. Mistakes are bad, but if they don't outweigh the positives, its not the end of the world.

 

[Whoshattenkirkshoes]

Oilers are +57 goal differential because of guys like Bouchard. If Montreal's defencemen were as good as the fanbase seems to think, maybe they wouldn't get their heads kicked in defensively every night.

After all according to you guys Guhle is awesome and Matheson is awesome and Xhekaj is the next Chara and Struble is worth Bouchard and Savard is worth a first and Hutson is better than Bouchard already so surely with all those phenomenal defencemen Montreal is a juggernaut, right?

Guhle isn't on the powerplay because he's not good at it. Never been his game.

Still doesn't change the fact that the stat you tossed out was skewed. If you put Bouchard in Guhle's role and Guhle in Bouchard's the numbers look way different.

Bouchard was crap last year. His play isn't anything new. It's just who he is.

I didn't understand how anyone could defend Bouchard last year. People that keep defending this player are crazy.

 

[Whoshattenkirkshoes]

that WAS 5v5 differential, smart guy.

Bouchard's all situations splits last year were 169-78. 5v5 was 94-58.

This is what I'm talking about when I say that Bouchard is madly underrated. His numbers are so good people assume that powerplay time has to be included, but he's just that dominant 5v5, even if he does make a mistake here and there.

Sorry this is just not true. People had him in the Norris conversation this year.

 

[Baksfamous112]

Aye, the better option is to keep being a bottom 5 team. Cant overpay a player if none of them are any good!

Funny coming from a team that would probably be dead last in the league if not for two players.

Last season:

Guhle was on for 48 goals for and 59 against.
Bouchard was on for 94 goals for an 58 against.

Guhle was on for 193 high danger chances for and 237 against.
Bouchard was on for 399 high danger chances for and 229 against.

The fun part for Bouchard is he puts up great numbers no matter who he plays with. Top 5 league wide among D in pretty much every metric you can look at. Even this year.

Bouchard's the better and more valuable D and Edmonton would be insane to trade Bouchard for Guhle. "But Guhle will be cheaper!" Yes, because he's not as good or as dynamic.

Yeah let’s act like a non generational, one-way D makes or break the 100+ goals difference between the two teams. I bet you were one of those guys cheering on the Nurse contract when everyone was laughing at it.

Oilers are +57 goal differential because of guys like Bouchard. If Montreal's defencemen were as good as the fanbase seems to think, maybe they wouldn't get their heads kicked in defensively every night.

After all according to you guys Guhle is awesome and Matheson is awesome and Xhekaj is the next Chara and Struble is worth Bouchard and Savard is worth a first and Hutson is better than Bouchard already so surely with all those phenomenal defencemen Montreal is a juggernaut, right?

Guhle isn't on the powerplay because he's not good at it. Never been his game.

But is it really because of guys like Bouchard or because of guys like McDavid and Draisaitl?​

2024-25 Edmonton Oilers​

#	Name	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
29	Leon Draisaitl	C	21	15	13	28	10
97	Connor McDavid	C	18	9	16	25	6
2	Evan Bouchard	D	21	5	8	13	6
14	Mattias Ekholm	D	21	2	8	10	4
25	Darnell Nurse	D	18	2	7	9	18
93	Ryan Nugent-Hopkins	C	21	2	7	9	6
18	Zach Hyman	L	20	3	5	8	12
27	Brett Kulak	D	21	4	4	8	4
13	Mattias Janmark-Nylen	C	21	1	7	8	6
53	Jeff Skinner	L	21	4	3	7	2
90	Corey Perry	R	21	4	2	6	14
33	Viktor Arvidsson	L	16	2	3	5	6
28	Connor Brown	R	21	3	2	5	2
19	Adam Henrique	C	21	2	3	5	6
92	Vasili Podkolzin	R	21	0	5	5	11
10	Derek Ryan	C	19	0	2	2	8
48	Noah Philp	C	3	0	1	1	0
8	Drake Caggiula	L	3	0	1	1	5
49	Ty Emberson	D	19	0	1	1	7
42	Kasperi Kapanen	R	1	0	0	0	0
44	Josh Brown	D	3	0	0	0	7
30	Calvin Pickard	G	8	0	0	0	0
24	Travis Dermott	D	10	0	0	0	2
74	Stuart Skinner	G	14	0	0	0	0
51	Troy Stecher	D	17	0	0	0

 

[Raistlin]

As a fan of a rival team in a cap world, I honestly can't wait for Bouchard to sign for 10+ million. I seriously think they need to graft him to Ekholm's hip for the duration of his contract.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Funny coming from a team that would probably be dead last in the league if not for two players.

Yeah let’s act like a non generational, one-way D makes or break the 100+ goals difference between the two teams. I bet you were one of those guys cheering on the Nurse contract when everyone was laughing at it.

But is it really because of guys like Bouchard or because of guys like McDavid and Draisaitl?​

2024-25 Edmonton Oilers​

#	Name	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
29	Leon Draisaitl	C	21	15	13	28	10
97	Connor McDavid	C	18	9	16	25	6
2	Evan Bouchard	D	21	5	8	13	6
14	Mattias Ekholm	D	21	2	8	10	4
25	Darnell Nurse	D	18	2	7	9	18
93	Ryan Nugent-Hopkins	C	21	2	7	9	6
18	Zach Hyman	L	20	3	5	8	12
27	Brett Kulak	D	21	4	4	8	4
13	Mattias Janmark-Nylen	C	21	1	7	8	6
53	Jeff Skinner	L	21	4	3	7	2
90	Corey Perry	R	21	4	2	6	14
33	Viktor Arvidsson	L	16	2	3	5	6
28	Connor Brown	R	21	3	2	5	2
19	Adam Henrique	C	21	2	3	5	6
92	Vasili Podkolzin	R	21	0	5	5	11
10	Derek Ryan	C	19	0	2	2	8
48	Noah Philp	C	3	0	1	1	0
8	Drake Caggiula	L	3	0	1	1	5
49	Ty Emberson	D	19	0	1	1	7
42	Kasperi Kapanen	R	1	0	0	0	0
44	Josh Brown	D	3	0	0	0	7
30	Calvin Pickard	G	8	0	0	0	0
24	Travis Dermott	D	10	0	0	0	2
74	Stuart Skinner	G	14	0	0	0	0
51	Troy Stecher	D	17	0	0	0

Nothing proves last year’s goal differential like this year’s numbers

Sorry this is just not true. People had him in the Norris conversation this year.

People that understand the sport, yes.

Meanwhile you’ve got dopes in this thread thinking that a 2nd pairing defenceman with no offense on a shitty team carries more value.