Pretty sure I saw it reported Bouchard said he doesn’t want a bridge deal

That was supposed to be a 5x5 my bad!

Bouchard is going to be a star for the next decade. No chance Edmonton trades him

I'm kind of torn on this, I think given Edmonton's track record sure, but shouldn't they also do everything they can while they still have mcdavid and Drai? They are by far EDM's best shot at a cup

Bouchard has 7 points in 4 playoff games, he’s a great compliment to Mcdavid and Draisaitl

Yes, but there is no doubt that EK is levels above him, of course, this trade all depends on how EDM does in the playoffs

He was better than Bouchard offensively this season obviously , but Bouchard is miles better defensively and id bet 33 year old karlsson regresses next year while Bouchard will be a Norris contender

Edmonton's Cup window is open now, but also will be open for the next 8-10 years. Karlsson will be long retired by then... besides, Holland spent his bundle on Ekholm. He's not trading young talent for a 33 year old coming off a career season on a massive contract with term.

Seems like a bad trade for SJ

Cup window open for 8-10 years is ambitious to say the least, especially if you consider Drai is prolly gone at the end of his contract. I do get the point though it sounds like they are no longer good partners for a trade

The chances of Draisaitl leaving at the end of his contract are very, very low.

How will EDM afford another 12 mil player?

Evan Bouchard is one of the future cornerstones of the Edmonton team. They won't be trading him, and Minnesota won't be trading you Jesper Wallstedt, either, just in case Filip Gustavsson is a flash in the pan.

Honestly I thought more people would have issues with the wallstedt trade over the EDM one, that jack contract is badddddddd and I thought it would make up for a lot of the cost tbh

Says the guy who is trying to trade Karlsson to Edmonton!

The cap is set to rise significantly next summer. If he gets $12M that's only $3.5M more than he gets currently.

Karlsson at 8.5 while taking 8.1 back without taking into account Bouchard.... Drai is gonna be on 12+ McDavid is, Campbell on 5, Bouchard on a new deal, Ekholm on 6, Nurse on 9, plus everyone you have at 5 mil and broberg will need a new deal is only 10 players and almost 70 mil on the cap...

Again, the next Draisaitl contract will be about $3.5M more than today, the cap is projected to go up by more than that next summer (2024).

As cap rises so do player costs, counting having 20 million to sign 12 players will be tight... which is why I see the oilers pushing VERY hard in the next 3 years to go for a cup, whether or not Karlsson is how they do it is up for debate (it seems like not him lol), and the oilers will have to keep an eye on their cap for a crazy Mcdavid contract too if they wish to keep him

Well duh, of course they'll keep an eye on their cap. But Draisaitl would be the 2nd last guy sacrificed for the sake of the cap.

I dont think he'll be a cap sacrifice, more like he deserves to be a #1 C and oilers prolly can't afford the support players if they have two players on mega contracts. All of this is hypothetical because they could very well win the cup this year

That Minnesota traded us beyond unrealistic and unreasonable. Wallstedt isn't getting traded, nor nothing else bunch of crappy pieces Minnesota want

:/ that's what I figured, but you get a worse (although still decent) goalie prospect. A center prospect who is coming off a good year in the KHL and the wild need centers. And a cheaper better winger who can play anywhere in the line up. Figured it would only happen if he really wants NHL minutes next year which he won't get at Minnesota baring a big big drop off from Gustafson* dont think I spelled this right but your other young monster goalie* was going off the idea that wild (if gustavson pans out) won't need another crazy good goalie, but need * cap space & centers. Sharks don't really have a better center prospect that could help the wild quickly, so we are maybe not the best match for a trade

Broberg then? Or would Karlsson-Bouchard be redundant like Burns-Karlsson was, so Oilers no longer interested in EK?