Oilers’ Evan Bouchard is headed toward a hefty payday on next contract

The Edmonton Oilers have been on the lookout for their outright No. 1 defenseman, but have they found him in Evan Bouchard? 

Playing without his steadying defensive partner in Mattias Ekholm through the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Bouchard has thrived and developed into the top blueliner for the Oilers, while scoring six goals and 17 points in 14 playoff games so far. 

Set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season, how big of a contract could he get? Whatever it may be, it’s likely to be a big jump from his most recent deal, which had an average annual value of $3.9 million. 

On Tuesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff Live, Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli looked at what his future may look like in a game of “hot or cold.”

Yaremchuk: Bouchard has looked more like a true No. 1 defenseman as these playoffs have gone on. The idea of him being a $10 million AAV this summer – is that hot or cold? Hot being yes, it’s probably going to happen, and cold being nuts and a bridge too far. 

Seravalli: It’s hot. I have to think that, with yet another repeat playoff performance, his third consecutive postseason of at least 17 points, he’s now 75 points in 67 career postseason games, which is an incredible pace. That’s a 93-point pace over an 82-game regular season. 

Beyond that, he’s put himself in some incredible company now, 32nd all-time in postseason points by a defenseman. He has passed Rob Blake, who has played double the number of postseason games. I think the Oilers were hopeful at one point this season that they might have been able to squeeze in at home at $8.5 million AAV, but I think these playoffs have probably exploded that pipe dream.

You can catch the segment and the rest of Tuesday’s show here…