Evan Bouchard could sign a monstrous deal with Oilers, per NHL insider

Coming off a sting back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals loss, the Edmonton Oilers appear poised to ink a deal with Evan Bouchard. Conversations between both parties have already started, according to general manager Stan Bowman, and it won't be long before the development about the same hits the headlines.

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman feels confident about a potential blockbuster deal along the way for Bouchard. Coming off a 67-point regular season for the Oilers, Bouchard could see an uptick of around $5 million to his previous $3.8 million annual salary.

"Evan Bouchard—there seemed to be a lot of confidence over the weekend that they're gonna get this sorted out," Friedman said on 32 Thoughts podcast. "I wonder if it's gonna be around four times 9.5. Like, that's just numbers that were being thrown around here. We'll see. But there seems to be a lot of confidence that it's gonna get worked out."

The potential deal suggested by Friedman would net Bouchard an average of $9.5 million per season over four years. He may even earn over $10 million annually in arbitration or a longer-term deal.

According to another insider, Pierre LeBrun, a four-year contract is strategically beneficial for Bouchard, who can once again enter the market at age 29. However, some even speculate that the Oilers will want all of Bouchard's prime years to themselves with a potential eight-year with $10 million AAV deal on the horizon.

Either way, the Oilers must be clear on how they want to proceed because they have a big potential extension coming up for Connor McDavid.