Ex-NHL defenceman eviscerates Evan Bouchard's contract with Edmonton Oilers
Ex-NHL defenceman James Wisniewski is not a fan of the Edmonton Oilers signing Evan Bouchard to a big contract.
Bouchard, who now sits second all-time in playoff points per game by NHL defencemen, inked a four-year deal with the Oilers earlier this summer that carries a cap hit of $10.5 million. It was a big deal for Edmonton to sign, but Bouchard has proven to be the team’s top defenceman, and his ability to ramp his game up in the playoffs has helped his case.
Yet, the 41-year-old Wisniewski was not convinced, absolutely ripping into the contract on a recent episode of the Empty Netters Podcast.
“If you want to f*cking win, that is not the guy you’re gonna sign to go to the next level,” Wisniewski said. “You need a power-play dude, but he’s not that good other than that.
“I’m not taking credit away from him by being like a really good offensive defenceman, but he’s eating up $10.5 million of your salary.”
Co-host Dan Powers went even further to suggest that the Oilers should have traded Bouchard instead of signing him this offseason.
It’s true that Bouchard is one of the league’s best offensive defencemen and that his defensive game could use improvement, but Wisniewski seemed to think more than that. He stated that the Oilers would have been better off ditching the big Bouchard contract in exchange for signing two defencemen at $5 million apiece, with one working the PP while the other is more defensive-minded.
Yet, it doesn’t appear that the former Columbus Blue Jackets defenceman has watched Bouchard all that much. Is he prone to making a big mistake in his end from time to time? Absolutely, but his overall defensive numbers are sparkling.
In the playoffs last season, Bouchard was fifth among playoff defencemen (with at least 200 minutes of TOI) in expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) and fourth in high-danger chances-for percentage (HDCF%) at five-on-five. That seems to suggest that he was one of the best five-on-five defenders in the entire playoffs, contrary to Wisniewski’s assessment that he was a one-trick PP pony.
It’s also a bit ignorant to leave out just how productive he has been from the blueline. It’s not easy to outscore your mistakes as an NHL defenceman, but Bouchard manages to do just that.
At the age of 25, Bouchard already has 81 points in 75 career playoff games. He ranks behind only Bobby Orr in playoff pts/g by an NHL defender and is already the 25th highest scoring defenceman in the playoffs. That isn’t something any $5-million offensive defenceman could accomplish, even if they got PP minutes with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Bouchard is a top-five defenceman in the league and has shown that he can elevate his game in the playoffs to absurd levels. He manages to be an excellent defenceman by making sure that the puck is always in the offensive zone, thus limiting the Oilers’ time in the defensive zone.
With the cap exploding to over $110 million over the next few seasons, paying a guy like Bouchard $10.5 million will eventually be a steal for this team. You can’t replace what he brings, and trading him would have been a colossal mistake.