GM Stan Bowman spills the beans on $42,000,000 Oilers D-man deciding against 8-year contract extension

Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman opened up about defenseman Evan Bouchard's 4-year, $42 million contract extension, revealing that an 8-year deal was never really considered.

Bouchard is coming off a breakout season. He put up 67 points in 82 regular-season games and followed that up with 23 points in 22 playoff games during the Oilers' run to the Stanley Cup Final.

When asked about only signing Bouchard to a 4-year extension instead of an 8-year deal, Bowman explained:

"I guess in the negotiations, an eight year term was really never in the cards. I think the agent indicated that that wasn't something they thought made sense for them.” (per NHL.com)

He went on to note,

"I think it's really a function of the salary cap and where that's going. We certainly know that over the next three years, it's going to increase considerably."

With the salary cap projected to continue rising after the 4-year extension expires, Evan Bouchard's camp seemingly wanted to sign a shorter deal to eventually cash in on a new contract with a higher cap ceiling.

Bowman acknowledged their preference was for a long-term pact, saying:

"We certainly were hoping to do an eight year deal, but that was never really in the cards."

In the end, both sides found common ground on a 4-year, $10.5 million AAV contract. As Stan Bowman concluded, the other side was never interested in committing to an eight-year deal. Since they couldn’t be forced into it, the Oilers had to find another way to make the deal work.

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Evan Bouchard "excited" to be back with Oilers

Evan Bouchard is eager to return to the team next season after gaining valuable experience in the Stanley Cup final this year. Edmonton lost the 2024-25 Stanley Cup Final to the Florida Panthers in six games.

“So this upcoming year, I'm excited to have a lot of the same guys back,” Bouchard said on Tuesday (per TSN).

“Everyone's going to be that much hungrier. Everyone knows that. We have what it takes. We just need to give a little bit more.All in all, I'm excited for next year. I think the Oilers and I have a good chance in the years to come.”

Bouchard plans to focus on improving his overall game this summer, but wants to place extra emphasis on the defensive side.