Oilers received threat of offer sheet from Eastern Conference team with Evan Bouchard
Photo credit: Imagn Images
The Edmonton Oilers' biggest organizational priority this summer will be re-signing Connor McDavid to a contract extension, but their first move was a rush to sign Evan Bouchard.
Bouchard ended up signing a bridge deal with the Oilers for 4 years at $10.5M - a fist contract, but the Oilers got no concessions in the deal. It may have been because they were rushing to beat an offer sheet.
NHL insider confirms Carolina Hurricanes prepared offer sheet for Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard
On a recent episode of the Barn Burner Podcast, TSN insider Darren Dreger did confirm that Carolina was moving on an offer sheet for Bouchard, which rushed Edmonton into a signing him.
BARN BARNER: Did you hear the same on Bouchard? I'd heard that there was a team preparing one for Bouchard. And that's what got the Oilers to get that done across the line.
DREGER: Could have been Carolina too. You know, they were there. They were ready to step in one. There's no doubt about that. And, you know, that speaks to Tom Dundon, the owner of the Carolina Hurricanes and his apt to improve his team.
DREGER: Could have been Carolina too. You know, they were there. They were ready to step in one. There's no doubt about that. And, you know, that speaks to Tom Dundon, the owner of the Carolina Hurricanes and his apt to improve his team.
The Oilers had to settle for Bouchard commanding the highest possible salary and lowest term, which is the worst deal possible for Edmonton with the rising NHL salary cap. In 4 years, Bouchard will be a UFA and able to command a much higher salary on another potential 8 year deal.
Not only that, but the Oilers really made their mistake of not signing Bouchard long-term years ago. Before he broke out with his 82 point season, Bouchard was showing the signs he could become one of the NHL's premier offensive defenceman. Now he's reaching that status, and the Oilers will pay full value.
The Oilers were getting Bouchard for a steal of a deal for the last two seasons, and fans were already critical of him. He'll need to bring his best every night now and play a full 200 foot game to justify his salary of one of the top blue liners in the league.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 4 | 635 ANSWERS Oilers received threat of offer sheet from Eastern Conference team with Evan Bouchard Is the Oilers deal with Evan Bouchard too much? | ||
| Salary is too high | 395 | 62.2 % |
| Fair deal | 192 | 30.2 % |
| Term is just too low | 48 | 7.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
