BLOG: Bouchard excited to stay in Edmonton & keep pushing for a Stanley Cup

EDMONTON, AB – Evan Bouchard is returning to Oil Country this season on a four-year contract, ready to make those marginal improvements in his game, while helping push the Oilers that extra mile further in hopes of lifting the Stanley Cup after two straight trips to the Final.

“The goal for myself, for the organization and everybody else in the locker room is to win a Stanley Cup,” Bouchard said via video call on Tuesday. “Not a lot of teams can say that, but I really do think we have the pieces. We showed that over the past couple of years.”

“We're just a fraction off, and we’ve just got to figure that out.”

The 25-year-old defenceman signed a brand new four-year, $42 million ($10.5 million AAV) extension on Monday to continue his growth as one of the NHL’s top offensive defencemen in an Oilers uniform, fresh off recording 23 points (seven goals) in 22 postseason games in 2024-25 for the second-best playoff points percentage in NHL history (1.08), second to only Bobby Orr (1.24), after another 60-plus point regular season with 67 points (14 goals) in 82 games.

Following Edmonton's second straight run to the Stanley Cup Final, Bouchard and the Oilers are preparing to do that little bit extra to get themselves over the finish line in 2025-26 and orchestrate a few more long seasons beyond that with the Oakville, Ontario product locked up for four more years with the Oilers.

“It's not easy to go to the Stanley Cup Final two years in a row,” Bouchard said. “We had that feeling a couple of years ago, and last year was not any better, if not worse, to go that far two years in a row and not to be rewarded for it.

“So this upcoming year, I'm excited to have a lot of the same guys back. Everyone's going to be that much hungrier. Everyone knows that. We have what it takes. We just need to give a little bit more. All in all, I'm excited for next year. I think the Oilers and I have a good chance in the years to come.”

Bouchard's offence comes as advertised with his patented Bouch Bomb™️ from the blueline that sits in the 90th percentile of all metrics for shot speed, as per NHL Edge Puck and Player Tracking Statistics, while being in the 99th percentile for shots during the 2024-25 campaign with 235 – second to only Colorado's Cale Makar (246) and Columbus' Zach Werenski (298).

Bouchard will continue to quarterback Edmonton's potent power play alongside Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman, and remains one of the League's most dangerous threats on the back end despite still being considered a young player in the League at 25 years old.

The rearguard is focused on further improving the defensive aspects of his game after learning their importance during the most intense moments of the season, particularly in the playoffs, while hoping to become a more consistent player in every facet to become an even more impactful player in Edmonton.

"I think [defending] is the big thing," Bouchard said about his off-season focus. "Over the past season or two, I've really focused on the defensive side of things. Especially later on this season, come playoff time, the most important thing is to keep the puck out of the net. So I think my game's just gonna keep getting better and grow on both sides."

"I know I'm not going to be the loudest one in the room by yelling and doing all that stuff, but I do want to be able to lead my play on the ice," he added. "Like I said, to do that, I've got to find the balance of consistency. If I can stay consistent, that's the best way that I can help lead the team."

Additionally, Bouchard will have the consistency of returning to a nearly untouched blueline for Edmonton, bringing back the core of their defence last season that included himself, Darnell Nurse, Mattias Ekholm, Brett Kulak, Troy Stecher and Ty Emberson to try and build on their chemistry and results.

"It's obviously a good feeling," he said. "I think a lot of guys were happy with the defensive group, and it shows that as a whole, we take pride in what we do, and we're going to keep going now. I think our core is just gonna keep growing and we're gonna keep getting stronger, and we're excited to do that."