"McDavid to Toronto" "Ridiculously bad": NHL fans react as Evan Bouchard signs 4-year, $42M extension with Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers signed defenseman Evan Bouchard to a four-year, $42 million extension on Monday, insider Chris Johnston confirmed.

The deal ended speculation regarding the star blue liner’s future with the Oilers. Now that there’s a done deal, the Oilers can move on to figure out other urgent matters.

However, news of the deal was met with some trepidation from Oilers fans. Here’s what these fans had to say about Evan Bouchard’s extension.

Meanwhile, other fans expressed excitement at the news of Evan Bouchard’s extension. Let’s see what these fans had to say.

Following the deal, the Edmonton Oilers officially have $551K in cap space. So, fans could see more deals from the team in the not-too-distant future.

Evan Bouchard’s contract ushers in era of Core Four in Edmonton

Evan Bouchard’s contract extension now leaves the Edmonton Oilers with four players eating up a significant chunk of the team’s salary cap. Leon Draisaitl leads the club with a $14 million AAV, Connor McDavid $12.5 million (in the final year of his current deal), Bouchard at $10.5 million, and Darnell Nurse at $9.5 million.

In total, these four players account for $46.5 million of the $95.5 million cap ceiling for next season. That situation accounts for 48.7% of the Oilers’ total cap space for next season. That situation has drawn comparisons to the Toronto Maple Leafs' so-called Core Four.

Toronto’s Core Four, Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares, and Mitch Marner, took up over half of the team’s cap space at one point. Unfortunately for the Maple Leafs, that salary cap structure was not enough to win a championship.

While the Oilers have made it to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, their new Core Four experiment leads fans to question how successful the Oilers’ current cap structure could be. The Oilers find themselves amid uncertainty this summer.

So, the Oilers will need to round out their roster with approximately $550K. That situation signals that more moves could be forthcoming in Oil Country.

About the author

Nestor is an NHL and MLB writer at Sportskeeda with over 10 years of experience. Growing up in Toronto, he became an avid Maple Leafs and Blue Jays fan, but also admires the New York Islanders and Los Angeles Dodgers for their dominance in the 80s. Holding an Economics and Education major, Nestor’s passion for writing and sporting events led him to take up reporting about the sport professionally.

Nestor credits the Leafs’ playoff runs in the early '90s as having a lasting impact on him. His favorite players are Doug Gilmour and Mike Bossy, as he feels they were tough, talented leaders, while Pat Burns is his favorite coach of all time for always preaching a fast-paced game.

Growing up in Canada, it was natural for Nestor to become interested in ice hockey and he played Minor Hockey as a teenager, which has given him a unique perspective on the sport. Nestor has mastered the art of how to best present facts and he also has a knack for knowing which sources can be trusted, and which can't for stories.

When he is not writing about Canada’s national passion, Nestor enjoys running and hiking.

Know More