The Edmonton Oilers have a reason to keep one eye on Colorado, and it has everything to do with Evan Bouchard’s next contract.
Cale Makar is closing in on a deal that could reset the market, and the shape of that extension will matter far beyond the Avalanche. Edmonton’s front office will be watching to see whether Makar goes long-term and lands close to the maximum, or takes a shorter route that leaves him positioned for another major payday later on.
For the Oilers, the ripple effect points straight to Bouchard. He is Edmonton’s Norris Trophy candidate, its top defenseman, a heavy-minutes player and a major point producer. He also has a contract path that already has him thinking ahead to 2028, when his deal can be extended.
Bouchard is currently in the first year of a four-year contract that pays him $10.5 million per season. He chose the shorter term so he could cash in again at 29, and with the salary cap climbing, that decision is starting to look very sharp. If anyone still thinks he’s overpaid, the next wave of defenseman deals may change that conversation quickly.
Even if Bouchard is not in Makar’s class, a Makar extension should still lift the floor for what Edmonton’s blue-liner can command. The gap between their contracts is likely to narrow in a hurry, and Bouchard’s next raise figures to be substantial.
That’s the larger backdrop here: elite players are increasingly steering their own timelines, and Makar’s choice will be another example of how much control the NHL’s biggest stars now hold. Whether he stays in Colorado, goes short-term, or maximizes his value another way, the decision will echo across the league.
And Bouchard is right in the middle of that picture.
He may be a tier below Makar, but he is still a legitimate potential 100-point defenseman. Last season, he finished second among defensemen in 5-on-5 points, ahead of Makar.
He drives Edmonton’s power play and penalty kill, and while his defensive game has warts, so does Makar’s. Players handling that kind of workload are going to make mistakes.
Bouchard is already elite. He’s well paid now, but the Makar deal is poised to make his current contract look modest in a hurry.
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