How Jakob Chychrun’s new contract could impact Evan Bouchard’s next deal

The Washington Capitals made headlines by locking up Jakob Chychrun to an eight-year contract with a $9 million cap hit, tying him with the Colorado Avalanche‘s Cale Makar and the New Jersey Devils‘ Dougie Hamilton for the 10th-highest paid defenseman in the league next season. It also adds him to the Capitals’ long-term core on the blueline, with Matt Roy and Rasmus Sandin also locked up long term for the team.

But now with Chychrun locked up, it sets up for an interesting market for other defensemen with expiring contracts, especially as we see the salary cap projecting to rise over the next few seasons.

One defenseman this particularly becomes interesting for is Edmonton Oilers blueliner Evan Bouchard. He seemed poised to break the bank after an 82-point season in 2023-24, along with 32 points during the Oilers’ Cup Final run, but with just 55 points in 70 games, he’s fallen a bit more down to earth, especially with some defensive inconsistencies, and now the kind of money he’ll get on his next deal is completely up in the air.

Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk talked about how Chychrun’s new contract could impact Bouchard’s next deal with the Oilers on Daily Faceoff Live.

Frank Seravalli: Yeah, I think it helps set the baseline and the standard of what [a contract for Bouchard] might look like.

Look, I think the Oilers need to do whatever they can to keep him under a $10 million average annual value. And if it’s beyond that, I’m saying “I’m going to have to look to move you.”

Tyler Yaremchuk: Yeah, and the tough part with Bouchard is obviously that he is arbitration eligible, and with the offensive numbers he puts up…

Frank Seravalli: An 82-point season last year is going to loom large.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Yeah, that is something that could really come through in the arbitration process.

You can watch the full episode here…