Evan Bouchard's next contract revealed?

One of the biggest questions facing the Edmonton Oilers coming into this summer is the future of star defenseman Evan Bouchard.

Bouchard has proven himself to be an extremely valuable player for the Oilers come playoff time, establishing himself as one of the very best offensive defensemen in the National Hockey League when it comes to the Stanley Cup playoffs, and as a result he is expected to see a drastic increase in pay on his next contract.

There have been rumors of a long term extension that would cost the Oilers upwards of $10 million against the cap in terms of Bouchard's average annual value and salary cap hit, but the latest reports suggest that both the term and number may be significantly lower than expected.

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman briefly commented on the Bouchard negotiations on Monday, revealing that he has been hearing the number will actually come under the $10 million mark.

"In Edmonton Evan Bouchard, there seemed to be a lot of confidence over the weekend that they are gonna get this sorted out," revealed Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast. "I wonder if it's going to be around 4x$9.5 million, that's just numbers that we're being thrown around here so we'll see."

Even at the lower number of $9.5 million that would represent a massive raise for Bouchard who played out the final year of a 2 year deal this season, one that paid him an average annual value and cap hit of $3.9 million per season. That being said it's hard to argue that Bouchard hasn't earned it, coming off of a 22 game playoff performance that saw him record 7 goals and 16 assists for 23 points, over a point a game against the best teams in the National Hockey League.