Oilers star defenseman Evan Bouchard is going to be a restricted free agent this offseason, and the salary he wants has been revealed, and he won't be cheap. Evan Bouchard's path toward <a href='https://thehockeywriters.com/oilers-trading-evan-bouchard-could-solve-future-cap-issues/' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>becoming a restricted free agent is becoming a reality</a> and there are some early estimates on how much he stands to gain as an Oiler. So far this season, the 25-year-old defenseman for the Oilers has scored eight goals and has aided in 29 others giving him a total of 37 points in 50 games. <a href='https://www.nhl.com/oilers/player/evan-bouchard-8480803' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Bouchard</a> has 208 points in 315 games. He has shown to be an excellent offensive defenseman and exceptional on the power plays. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/HockeyDaily365/status/1860540939221045620'> </a></blockquote></div> Unfortunately for Edmonton, whatever cap space they had, will be gone with Bouchard's next contract if he tries to exceed Darnell Nurse's pay, which seems exactly what he is demanding. <h3>Bouchard wants between 9 and 10 million annually</h3> With the statistics that were shown above, he may be regarded as one of the top two-way defensemen in the game, but as much as we hate to admit, he does not stand out as the most valuable asset in the Edmonton Oilers franchise. However, his contract negotiations are something worth talking about. Rumor from 'The Hockey News' has it that he wants something in the ballpark of 9 or 10 million, which may force the Edmonton Oilers to adjust their plans. <div align='center' style='padding:20px;'><img src='https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/i/photo/522929.webp' width='100%' border='0' alt='image' loading='lazy' defer /></div> At the moment it does not seem like the Oilers are working him around what trades they want, but they may be forced to if the contracting talks get out of hand. The latest happenings in the NHL have shown that <a href='https://www.hockeylatest.com/nhl-team/edmonton-oilers/elliotte-friedman-reveals-leon-draisaitl-was-the-reason-mikko-rantanen-got-traded-by-the-avalanche' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>there have been deals that changed the very strategy of teams</a> primarily due to these salary disputes, such as the Mikko Rantanen trade where Rantanen shifted from Colorado to Carolina. Edmonton needs to play this smart since his contract expires at the end of the current season. <a href='https://www.hockeylatest.com/nhl-team/saint-louis-blues/st-louis-blues-had-plans-to-offer-sheet-two-oilers-players-for-weeks' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Losing another one of those key players to an offer sheet</a> would not be good for the franchise, and would further alienate even more fans of the team.