Evan Bouchard was drafted in the First Round, 10th overall at the 2018 NHL Draft by the Edmonton Oilers and has definitely lived up to his draft stock, occupying a top pairing spot on the right side. He has grown into one of the league's top offensive defenders as well and his new contract extension shows it.
Despite this, Bouchard is a common target of criticism and ire amongst the peanut gallery across the NHL made up of both fans and media members. This is a tale as old as time, an offensive defenseman who makes the odd poorly timed error gets tarred and feathered despite their successes.
This has been true throughout the years but Bouchard may be the most high end example of this phenomenon in recent years. Especially with the seemingly visceral reaction that he exudes from people at times. The elite defender even found himself in trade rumors this season.
Evan Bouchard is one of the best defensemen in the league
The bulk of Bouchard's value comes from his offensive game, starting as soon as he entered the league as a 22 year old, racking up over 40 points every year since he became an NHL regular. Specifically the past two seasons has seen Bouchard start to separate himself from the pack, potting 18 goals and 64 assists for 82 points in 81 games in 2023-24.
Over these two years he sits eighth amongst defensemen in points per 60 minutes (Pts/60) at 5-on-5 play (1.41), putting him ahead of names such as; Roman Josi, Josh Morrissey, and Rasmus Dahlin. Looking at the postseason, his numbers even improve to 1.99 Pts/60, sitting far ahead of any other defender who has played 250 or more minutes (evolving-hockey.com).
Still, many will use the argument that Bouchard is a product of his elite teammates, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid but that may not be the case. Using naturalstattrick.com and their line tool, we can see how Bouchard stacks up with and without either player and vice versa.
Using this tool, the trio is much better than the sum of it's parts, meaning that they are best when all three are paired up. To evaluate this, I looked at two statistics in particular; corsi for percentage and expected goals percentage. This helps to determine shot volume (corsi) and the quality (expected goals) of chances that are being generated.
The difference is minimal between the three in isolation, Bouchard actually drives shot volume at a better rate than the others when separated but is slightly lesser when it comes to the actual quality of chances but both statistics are above average. The three are elite with or without the others.
So, we have established that Bouchard is elite offensively and he rises to the occasion, even boosting his production come playoff time. We have even established that Bouchard is a high end offensive creator even away from both of his superstar teammates in Draisaitl and McDavid.
The main drag on him left is his defensive deficiencies, which some act like completely wipes out his value offensively. This can be true for some high end offensive defenders, in recent years this has been the case for players like Morgan Rielly and Tony DeAngelo. Is it the case for Bouchard though?
In order to eliminate some noise, I took a look at Bouchard compared to some of the other high end offensive producers on the blueline. Some of the names were the aforementioned Josi, Morrissey, and Dahline but also; Zach Werenski, Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, Adam Fox, Victor Hedman, and more. In total, I landed on 14 of the top producers over the past two seasons combined.
Using corsi against and expected goals against, Bouchard ranked first amongst the 14 in corsi and third in expected goals, both rated on a per 60 basis. Amongst the same group, he ranked first in both corsi for and expected goals for. This is an elite group and for Bouchard to rate so highly, speaks volumes to his skill level on both ends of the ice.
It is clear that there is no redemption needed, Bouchard is one of the league's best defenders and belongs there too. His $10.5 million is justified and if he re-signs for more money in four years when his current deal expires, he will likely be worth it then too.