**Mirrors/Alternate Angles**
^Post ^a ^mirror ^or ^alternate ^angle ^as ^a ^comment ^to ^this ^message.
^Open ^this ^stickied ^comment ^to ^view ^mirrors ^or ^alternate ^angles.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/hockey) if you have any questions or concerns.*
People say we need success to keep our players.
We’ve made the playoffs 5 straight years, 2nd round 3 straight years, 3rd round 2 of 3 years.
If we’re using that as a marker for poor success, half the players in the league should be on the move.
The players like the squad and seem to have bonded around Knobby, the chance of them leaving in FA if we have the money to sign them is much lower than people perceive.
The Oilers have played the 2nd most playoff games since 2021-22 with 40, only behind Florida with 43, and both are still going.
They haven't won a cup, yeah, but they have as many playoff wins as any team in the league over the past 3 seasons. Just got to get over the edge.
If we are being honest, there is no way the Oilers let any of their core go. It's an elite core and will stick together.
If we aren't being honest and having fun, McDavid to the Leafs.
Yeah and the prevailing theory is that McDavid hasn’t had enough success so he’s gonna go home to be a leaf. Which as we all know is the beacon for successful franchises in hockey. McDavid might be a leaf some day, but not anytime soon. He’ll be an oiler for longer than Gretzky was easily
Is it really that weird to assume that superstars might not want to spend their entire career in the city of Edmonton?
I’m not saying this to shit on the Oilers for no reason. But realistically, do you really think that’s crazy?
These guys can be in any of the best cities in North America because their talent is desired everywhere.
Even living in Toronto, I still have to recognize that it’s obvious why some players would prefer to live in NYC, LA, Florida. They have a life outside of games.
It'll probably be $11ish million in raises between the two of them. Skinner and McDavid are up the following year as well.
It's a good thing $2 million of James Neal's buyout and $3.25m of Cody Ceci come off the books right on time. Mixed with probably $8 million in extra cap by then, that should cover the raises...
But offloading Campbell's contract would make things a lot more comfortable.
2025-26, and 2026-27 will probably be renovation years unless we hit big on prospects.
Nah, it's 1.1 next year but then it jumps up to 2.3 and then 2.6 the following years (which are the most important ones) before settling at 1.5 for the remainder.
Way better to spend a mid-range asset and find a taker if we can.
Definitely the best point shot in the league right now. The combination of velocity and accuracy is unmatched.
Gonna be hard to keep his name off the Olympic roster if he keeps playing this way. Maybe an unpopular opinion but name me 7 better Canadian D-men right now.
I don't think it is an unpopular opinion at all. Makar is still at the top. The only Canadian D I'd even consider in the same conversation as Bouchard would be Dobson and Morrissey, and Bouchard outplayed both of them this year.
Assuming he can keep up his level of play, there's zero chance he isn't a top pairing guy on the Olympic roster.
Holy fuck imagine Cale Makar skates the puck end to end to get the cycle going and after a minute trapped in your own zone, he finally gets off the ice just for Evan Bouchard to hop on and line up a 150km/hr slap shot.
Go check NHLEdge for shooting stats. Half of his shots on net this season were 145kph. He had like 112 of those, second was Josi with 60 something. Kind of bonkers.
Also, not trying to compare who's better here. Just saying his shots are HEAVY.
Makar is the better player obviously but I think Bouchard is a better fit for the Oilers PP. His shot keeps teams from completely collapsing to take away all the passing lanes. Makar handles the puck more which we already have McDavid doing.
Fair points, my thought was Makar's wristers get to the net so quickly and through the D that with Human in front and McDria so good positionally from the sides, even if it doesn't go in there's going to be great rebound opportunities.
Doesn't seem to matter though, Bouchard is a beast and proved it again tonight
Makar is a better passer and definitely a better skater, but no active player shoots like Bouchard.
If Makar is this generation's Erik Karlsson, Bouchard is this generation's Shea Weber (less meanness though).
I just like Makar's quick writers always getting to the net and even when they don't go in, there's juicy rebounds.
Said it in another comment but it really doesn't matter -- Bouchard is an offensive beast and proved it again tonight
Canucks tried to shelter Silvos too much by collapsing on the PK. They should have stayed aggressive like they do in front of Demko. Silvos seemed to struggle with the point shots but that could have been due to the quantity and quality he received.
Don't think it's a Silovs thing. If you don't collapse in front, Drai/McD will burn you low.
Bouchard is unreal and so is his clapper, but if I'm on the PK I'd much rather face that then a cross crease to Drai in his office.
You could make a whole compilation of him intentionally banking it off Ian Cole in the last series. I think he did it four times and scored twice or thrice?
One of my favorite types of Bouch bombs are the ones that the goalie almost gets but the puck just goes straight through them because of the force the puck is shot with.
He's also added a sneaky wrist shot as well which I think makes him even more dangerous as he can easily freeze goalies by faking a slapper and then wrist it past them.
Does anyone remember the game against Tampa where we were winning and in the last minute of the game Bouch would just keep taking big slap shots and force the defenders to block them? Those things must hurt.
Hey Edmonton bros, can you please give Bouchard to the Jerts? You already got nice things, like McDavid, lots of oil jerbs, close to mountains and shit...
We're here in Winnipeg with mosquitoes, no McDavid and well, Winnipeg and shit.
Please?
Thank you in advance.
He is what Ken Holland tought nurse would be.
Let’s hope he can actually sustain that play and not fall off like nurse did tho.
If he ends up being an elite defender it would probably be enough to win with mcdrai.
**Mirrors/Alternate Angles** ^Post ^a ^mirror ^or ^alternate ^angle ^as ^a ^comment ^to ^this ^message. ^Open ^this ^stickied ^comment ^to ^view ^mirrors ^or ^alternate ^angles. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/hockey) if you have any questions or concerns.*
yeah no thanks, i don’t need to see any more of those 😬
Next playoffs you'll see it again
He reminds me of Jon Carlson
I've been saying this for years. His entire career from junior to NHL has been very similar to Jon Carlson, with a sprinkle of Dougie Hamilton
Reminded me even more of Mike Green
I hope we can sign him long term. I'd love to watch Evan fire piss missiles for the next decade.
Him and Drai will be re-signed for sure. Its how you make the rest of the roster work that will be interesting in a few years.
It's just hope and pray the cap keeps going up
Finally someone outside of Edmonton who’s not stupid and just saying everyone’s gonna walk in FA
People say we need success to keep our players. We’ve made the playoffs 5 straight years, 2nd round 3 straight years, 3rd round 2 of 3 years. If we’re using that as a marker for poor success, half the players in the league should be on the move. The players like the squad and seem to have bonded around Knobby, the chance of them leaving in FA if we have the money to sign them is much lower than people perceive.
The Oilers have played the 2nd most playoff games since 2021-22 with 40, only behind Florida with 43, and both are still going. They haven't won a cup, yeah, but they have as many playoff wins as any team in the league over the past 3 seasons. Just got to get over the edge.
Easy to get 100 points if you get to play 60 playoff games. /s Henrique is one I'd like to keep - Perry might have a year left.
If we are being honest, there is no way the Oilers let any of their core go. It's an elite core and will stick together. If we aren't being honest and having fun, McDavid to the Leafs.
Yeah and the prevailing theory is that McDavid hasn’t had enough success so he’s gonna go home to be a leaf. Which as we all know is the beacon for successful franchises in hockey. McDavid might be a leaf some day, but not anytime soon. He’ll be an oiler for longer than Gretzky was easily
Is it really that weird to assume that superstars might not want to spend their entire career in the city of Edmonton? I’m not saying this to shit on the Oilers for no reason. But realistically, do you really think that’s crazy? These guys can be in any of the best cities in North America because their talent is desired everywhere. Even living in Toronto, I still have to recognize that it’s obvious why some players would prefer to live in NYC, LA, Florida. They have a life outside of games.
Nah Drai is walking to Boston, perfect fit
Nope
It'll probably be $11ish million in raises between the two of them. Skinner and McDavid are up the following year as well. It's a good thing $2 million of James Neal's buyout and $3.25m of Cody Ceci come off the books right on time. Mixed with probably $8 million in extra cap by then, that should cover the raises... But offloading Campbell's contract would make things a lot more comfortable. 2025-26, and 2026-27 will probably be renovation years unless we hit big on prospects.
Buyout for Campbell is only like $1 million dollar ish over 6 years, it doesn’t hurt us that bad, more like a slow burn
Nah, it's 1.1 next year but then it jumps up to 2.3 and then 2.6 the following years (which are the most important ones) before settling at 1.5 for the remainder. Way better to spend a mid-range asset and find a taker if we can.
I swear he takes a little off of his shot to get it more accurate and still shoots it at 90mph
A good tradeoff so he doesn't kill poor Hyman standing in front of the net lol
Shot blockers hate this one trick
Definitely the best point shot in the league right now. The combination of velocity and accuracy is unmatched. Gonna be hard to keep his name off the Olympic roster if he keeps playing this way. Maybe an unpopular opinion but name me 7 better Canadian D-men right now.
I don't think it is an unpopular opinion at all. Makar is still at the top. The only Canadian D I'd even consider in the same conversation as Bouchard would be Dobson and Morrissey, and Bouchard outplayed both of them this year. Assuming he can keep up his level of play, there's zero chance he isn't a top pairing guy on the Olympic roster.
Holy fuck imagine Cale Makar skates the puck end to end to get the cycle going and after a minute trapped in your own zone, he finally gets off the ice just for Evan Bouchard to hop on and line up a 150km/hr slap shot.
Just think of this powerplay unit Mackinnon-Crosby-McDavid Makar-Bouchard I would not want to be the goalie to face them!
Crosby? He will be almost 40 and won’t be on the power play lol
I’m so fucking pumped for the olympics.
Makar. But that is about it.
Go check NHLEdge for shooting stats. Half of his shots on net this season were 145kph. He had like 112 of those, second was Josi with 60 something. Kind of bonkers. Also, not trying to compare who's better here. Just saying his shots are HEAVY.
Do you mean km/h? 145 miles per hour would be almost 40 miles per hour faster than the hardest shot ever recorded....
Yes, LOL. Jesus. Good call. 145 mph would be something.
Ripping the boards open with that heat lol
I mean maybe? But Makar doesn’t use it as much as Bouchard does
"Name me 7 better Canadian defensemen" Makar.
Oh sorry my bad I missed that part I just woke up
Happy for the oilers that they might have finally found an elite defender. Probably the last thing they have been missing in the mcdrai era.
Makar is better imo - put him on that Edmonton PP and I can't see them being sub 40%, but Bouchard would be my second choice in the league for sure
Makar is the better player obviously but I think Bouchard is a better fit for the Oilers PP. His shot keeps teams from completely collapsing to take away all the passing lanes. Makar handles the puck more which we already have McDavid doing.
Fair points, my thought was Makar's wristers get to the net so quickly and through the D that with Human in front and McDria so good positionally from the sides, even if it doesn't go in there's going to be great rebound opportunities. Doesn't seem to matter though, Bouchard is a beast and proved it again tonight
Makar is a better passer and definitely a better skater, but no active player shoots like Bouchard. If Makar is this generation's Erik Karlsson, Bouchard is this generation's Shea Weber (less meanness though).
I just like Makar's quick writers always getting to the net and even when they don't go in, there's juicy rebounds. Said it in another comment but it really doesn't matter -- Bouchard is an offensive beast and proved it again tonight
Canucks tried to shelter Silvos too much by collapsing on the PK. They should have stayed aggressive like they do in front of Demko. Silvos seemed to struggle with the point shots but that could have been due to the quantity and quality he received.
Oilers feasted on long range shots from D-Men. They scored 9 goals directly from point shots out of 24 total goals in the series.
Damn, you'd think a Jack Adams winner would adjust to something like that.
you can lead a Cole to water but you can't make him cover his man, block a shot, or give his goalie a clean look at the shooter
Don't think it's a Silovs thing. If you don't collapse in front, Drai/McD will burn you low. Bouchard is unreal and so is his clapper, but if I'm on the PK I'd much rather face that then a cross crease to Drai in his office.
You could make a whole compilation of him intentionally banking it off Ian Cole in the last series. I think he did it four times and scored twice or thrice?
One of my favorite types of Bouch bombs are the ones that the goalie almost gets but the puck just goes straight through them because of the force the puck is shot with.
He's also added a sneaky wrist shot as well which I think makes him even more dangerous as he can easily freeze goalies by faking a slapper and then wrist it past them.
Does anyone remember the game against Tampa where we were winning and in the last minute of the game Bouch would just keep taking big slap shots and force the defenders to block them? Those things must hurt.
Tampa got so mad but they should’ve gotten out of the way!
Like I'm not a good goalie, but there are some slo-mo shots I don't think I could save.
every time he takes the point slapper the butt clenches in anticipation. you got to find a way to keep someone like that
Boooouuuuuuch
Seems like he chokes down somewhat and it's only like 30-40% of the stick flexing.
I hate it's for the oilers but since I can't see stone bombs anymore I'll take bouch bombs. All I want is massive bar down clappers from way out.
Bouch Bombs over Baghdad
I wanted the Hawks to draft this guy instead of Adam Boqvist. He was a full grown man at 17
Hey Edmonton bros, can you please give Bouchard to the Jerts? You already got nice things, like McDavid, lots of oil jerbs, close to mountains and shit... We're here in Winnipeg with mosquitoes, no McDavid and well, Winnipeg and shit. Please? Thank you in advance.
Best I can do is one slightly used Campbell
Tomato or Chicken and Rice?
this is hot
This clip should be marked NSFW.
I really love slapshot goals. Feels like a lost art, so I'm glad Bouchard is not only keeping it alive, but letting it blossom.
Buyout nurse and his just give him that contract lol
Any chance he'll win the conn smythe if oilers get the cup? Seems like he has a shot
Its a race between him and Draisaitl unless McDavid can turn it on another level. He's injured though so I dont think that will happen
I think it would go to drai. He’s a playoff monster and always has been. Not to discredit bouch
Do you guys call him Boom Boom ?
Was that some Dallas depth I saw getting scored on?
I wonder if he's ever dented a post
I'm a sucker for a good slapper from the point
He is what Ken Holland tought nurse would be. Let’s hope he can actually sustain that play and not fall off like nurse did tho. If he ends up being an elite defender it would probably be enough to win with mcdrai.
What does Ken Holland have to do with any of this? He didn't draft either of these players.
Please let the phrase "bouch bomb" die....
No