The Edmonton Oilers are currently focused on winning their first Stanley Cup since 1990 and are close to clinching a playoff spot with the hope of having more success than last season, where they came up just short, losing in seven games to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final. However, they will soon have to shift their focus on trying to re-sign defender Evan Bouchard, who is a pending restricted free agent, and despite his lacklustre campaign, there could still be some teams around the NHL willing to pay a premium to send an offer sheet to try and bring him in. In this article, we will take a look at five teams that could send an offer sheet this offseason for Bouchard.
Chicago Blackhawks
The first team that makes sense is the Chicago Blackhawks, who will have plenty of cap space this offseason and have the draft capital available to send a serious offer to encourage Bouchard to sign an offer sheet. They are in the middle of a rebuild and have been looking to surround star forward Connor Bedard with stronger teammates to begin contending and pushing for a spot in the postseason consistently. One thing they have lacked is defensive depth, and Bouchard could solve that issue.
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Bouchard’s confidence as a puck-moving defender could stabilize the Blackhawks’ blue line and help their younger defensive core gain that same kind of confidence as they gain experience in the NHL. They may have to pay north of $10 million annually to make Bouchard consider leaving the Oilers and joining a rebuilding team, but with how bad their team has been in recent seasons, it should be a no-brainer to make that kind of monster offer.
Carolina Hurricanes
One of the most enticing destinations for Bouchard is the Carolina Hurricanes, who may have already inquired about him at the 2025 Trade Deadline. While the Hurricanes chose to trade Mikko Rantanen to the Dallas Stars for a monster trade return, it was revealed that the Oilers tried to acquire him as well, but the asking price was too high. Some analysts believe the Hurricanes were looking for Bouchard in any trade return for Rantanen, and if that’s accurate, they could look to target him again in the offseason.
The Hurricanes are a much more enticing destination, considering their outlook as a team, as they seem to be in contention consistently, and it doesn’t seem like they’ll be looking to rebuild or retool any time soon. They have the draft capital and cap space to make an offer to Bouchard, and if the Oilers wait too long to get a deal done, they could be forced into another situation similar to last offseason when they lost Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg.
St. Louis Blues
Speaking of Holloway and Broberg, the team that sent the offer sheets to the Oilers for the duo, the St. Louis Blues, could look to take another player from them. The Blues are close to being serious contenders again, and adding a strong puck-moving defender could help them move from the bubble of the playoff picture to being a championship favourite. Bouchard may not be the needle-mover to put them above teams like the Florida Panthers or Colorado Avalanche, but he gets them closer.
The only issue in this fit would be that the Blues don’t have their 2026 second-round pick. They would have to acquire it back to make an enticing but fair offer. However, anything north of $11,452,294 would require four first-round picks of compensation, which is a bit high, but they do have the picks to make the offer and make him one of the highest-paid defenders in the league, should they be unable to acquire their second-round pick back. It’s a stretch, but it could be a possibility.
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are another rebuilding team that could be willing to spend money and draft capital to get out of the bottom of the barrel and get back into contention. They have the cap space and draft capital to make it work, and they shouldn’t be counted out as a potential buyer in the offseason. It would take a lot of money to make signing with the Sharks worth Bouchard’s time, but playing in an organization with the brightest future in the NHL could be something that encourages him to consider signing with them.
Columbus Blue Jackets
The final team that could make an offer for Bouchard is the Columbus Blue Jackets. They are in a similar position to the Blues in the sense that they’d need to re-acquire their own draft picks to make an acceptable offer, but they have a lot of cap space and could look to start contending consistently. They may first focus on their goaltending situation, but if Bouchard is available and they still have some money left over, they could take a swing.
The Oilers’ focus will be on re-signing Bouchard once the season is over, but any of these teams could take a swing in the offseason. Hopefully, the Oilers can find a way to bring Bouchard back at a reasonable price and don’t have to deal with any offer sheet drama like last offseason.
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