Liam Horrobin from OilersNation: Frank Seravalli on OilersNation Every day for the past two weeks the Edmonton Oilers have been waiting for RFA fullback Evan Bouchard.
“I don’t see a path as currently set out for a long-term deal. I think they (Edmonton) are thinking and hoping for a bridge. If he gets to the point where he doesn’t want to sign for a bridge and only wants a long-term deal, it’s not possible that he (Evan Bouchard) will be traded this way.” Summer… I don’t think that’s something the Oilers want to do; however, they are dealing with a tight salary cap.
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There was a way to extend it over the summer into a bridge deal. Bouchard bet himself waiting to see how the year turned out. Now from now on I think you bet yourself and pocket whatever number it turns out to be 2 cents x $3.5 million, 2 cents x $4.5 million. You put that in your pocket and then work towards an $8 million deal after that.”
Tyler Yaremchuk adds that playing alongside Mattias Ekholm could help get him in the $7-8 million range.
“The other part of this also is from a player’s perspective, if you look at the back half of the season you had with Matthias Ekholm, you’ll play with him again next year. I understand wanting a little money now but if he (Bouchard) improves next year, We might be talking about a guy who puts himself in the $7 or $8 million range.”
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Evan Bouchard finished the regular season with 19 points in 19 games and the offense is on the way to the playoffs.
The bridge deal could cost the Oilers something in the $5 million per season range. If the Oilers go to a long playoff run and Bouchard continues to play well, the cost of the long-term deal only increases.
The Oilers don’t have much salary room to play next season.
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