NHL Rumors: Carolina Hurricanes almost signed Oilers' Evan Bouchard

The future of Evan Bouchard could have looked much different if the Edmonton Oilers didn't get a long-term contract completed before free agency opened. The Oilers settled with Bouchard on a four-year deal at $10.5 million AAV one day before the market opened, and it's a good thing they did because the Carolina Hurricanes were sitting ready, willing, and able to make a huge contract offer.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported recently that the Hurricanes were very serious about taking a run at Bouchard, which would have meant a trade with the Mammoth first to get back the necessary draft pick compensation. 

The Carolina Hurricanes threatened the Oilers with an offer sheet," Friedman said. "We'll find out some day what the truth is there. I think a lot of people kind of believe that Bouchard was going to come in around four (years) times 9.5 million, but if you look at his arbitration case, he could have gotten $10 million.

I think the fact that the Hurricanes were lurking around there got that deal to four times, $10.5 million. So after Carolina didn't get Bouchard, they pivoted to K'Andre Miller and the (New York) Rangers knew it. You know, the Rangers were aware of it and they got that deal done pretty similar to what an offer sheet would have looked like.

Even after landing Miller and Nik Ehlers, the Hurricanes have over $10 million in cap space available. Meanwhile, the Oilers have just $175,834 remaining, and have been working the phones trying to upgrade their goaltending position. With John Gibson now in Detroit, the market could not be thinner for GM Stan Bowman.

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