BLOG: Bouchard signed and ready to grow

EDMONTON, AB -The Oilers and Evan Bouchard received a little bit of certainty -- at least for the next two years -- as the rising defenceman put pen to paper on an extension on Thursday.

The news was a long time coming according to Bouchard, who made it known Edmonton was the place where he wanted to be via a virtual media conference.

"I think it's a good steppingstone, good bridge," he said. "I think in the next two years, the Oilers are going to be a real force out there, and I'm just looking to be a part of that."

Bouchard was the final major piece of the Oilers offseason puzzle to be sorted out. Extensions already handed out to Mattias Janmark, Derek Ryan, and Ryan McLeod - alongside the free agent addition of Connor Brown put the Oilers up tight to the NHL Salary Cap, but the 23-year-old defenceman says he wasn't too worried. Negotiations were not far off for quite a while, so there was little stress that the contract wasn't going to get done.

"I'm excited. We were close for a while there, so I think there wasn't too much pressure after that," Bouchard said.

The defenceman is looking to build off his second consecutive 40+ point season from the blueline and continue the development he saw in the latter half of the season as a defender -- primarily when paired with Mattias Ekholm. After the arrival of the Swedish stalwart, Bouchard saw his responsibility and confidence grow as the Oilers charged towards the postseason.

Prior to Ekholm's arrival, Bouchard had only eclipsed 20 minutes of time-on-ice in a game 11 times, in comparison to the 12 times he accomplished the feat in the final 21 games of the regular season skating alongside Ekholm.

It was in the playoffs where Bouchard really began to shine. Despite only appearing in 12 contests, the Oakville, ON native lead all defenders with 17 points (4G, 13A) in the Oilers postseason run. With a full year of playing alongside a stable partner in Ekholm, the sky could truly be the limit for the young blueliner with less than 200 games of NHL experience.

"I think it'll be great. He was very good to me. He's very good for me and I think having him around for a full year will be great for everyone else as well, not just myself," Bouchard said. "When someone has that big of a part in the team and you get to have them for a full year rather than just half year, I think it's going to help us grow."

Bouchard is expected to be one of many Oilers coming back to Edmonton to get a jump start on the 2023-24 season. Although the successes of last season were great, between the team's second consecutive 100-point season and their NHL record power play -- which Bouchard had a large hand in after Tyson Barrie was dealt to Nashville -- there is a drive to fulfill their vast potential.

"Like I said, I think it's going to be a good year for the Oilers," Bouchard said. "Coming back early, I think it's going to be big for the team. It's big to get everyone together, get camp going early, and I think it's going to help us out in the long run."