If the Edmonton Oilers win the Stanley Cup in 2025, many will remember the sequence of plays that Evan Bouchard made that saved their season. In Game 4 of their First-Round series against the Los Angeles Kings, the Kings were up 3-2 with 44 seconds left in the game as Kings forward Quinton Byfield carried the puck out of his zone. All he had to do was dump the puck out, and the Kings would’ve been going back to Los Angeles with a 3-1 series lead.
Instead, Bouchard made a miraculous play and knocked the puck off Byfield’s stick to keep the puck in the Kings’ zone. Then, just 15 seconds later, he blasted the puck from the blue line to beat goalie Darcy Kuemper and send the crowd into a frenzy and the Oilers into overtime. Leon Draisaitl tied the series with 1:42 left in overtime, and the Oilers have not looked back.
More than any other play this season or the last few years, Bouchard’s stop on Byfield late in the third period might have saved the Oilers’ season and who knows what else if they beat the Florida Panthers in the 2025 Stanley Cup Final, starting on Wednesday.
Bouchard Playing The Best Hockey of His Career
Many Oilers fans and pundits argued that Bouchard needed Mattias Ekholm to cover up for his mistakes in the defensive zone. The criticism has died down, at least for now. Ekholm has been out of the lineup for almost three-quarters of the playoffs due to injury, while Bouchard has tightened up his defensive game and ramped things up in the offensive zone. That’s why the Oilers need to sign Bouchard immediately after the playoffs are over.
Bouchard will become a restricted free agent (RFA) on July 1. Considering what happened last summer, when two of their RAFs were extended offer sheets and signed elsewhere, if I’m Oilers general manager Stan Bowman, I’d have a new contract offer ready for him now, and worth well over $10 million a season. Considering how well Bouchard has played in the Oilers’ last two runs to the Stanley Cup Final, he’s worth it.
Related: Oilers’ Evan Bouchard Is a Big Game Performer
There are skeptics who think he’s lazy or looks disinterested in the regular season. In some games, it might be warranted, but considering Bouchard’s age and playoff acumen, he’s still worth a raise. The Oilers can’t afford to lose him, so they’ll have to pay him.
Bouchard’s Play, Reminiscent of His Coach Paul Coffey
I watched the great Oilers teams of the 1980s and early 90s, and one of my favourite memories was during the 1984 Canada Cup. Edmonton and Calgary co-hosted the games, and I saw some of the greatest hockey in person, including when Paul Coffey stopped the Soviets on a 2-on-1 break in overtime. He dove for the puck, stopped it and then took it up ice where he assisted on the winning goal by Mike Bossy just a few minutes later.
Coffey had received his share of criticism in Edmonton for not being defensive enough, and yet he saved the game for Canada and helped the Oilers win three Stanley Cups in 1984, 1985 and 1987. The comparisons between Bouchard and Coffey, including the criticism, are eerily similar. That’s why it probably helps Bouchard to have Coffey as his coach–especially to shut out all the noise.
Bouchard’s Price Tag Could Go Higher if Oilers Win the Stanley Cup
In the movie Jerry Maguire, there’s a moment when Maguire, a sports agent played by Tom Cruise, presents an owner with an offer on behalf of his client. The owner looks up at Maguire in disbelief, saying he can’t afford the number. Maguire calmly looks back and says, “No one said winning was cheap.” Bouchard’s value will only go up if the Oilers beat the Panthers and claim their first Stanley Cup of the Connor McDavid era. It’s a price teams know they have to pay.
McDavid will be entering the final season of his $12.5 million deal in 2025-26, so the Oilers have to make sure they have enough money to go around. But based on how well Bouchard has played in the last two postseasons, I’d pay him what he’s worth. I’m sure the Oilers brass feel the same way.
