I would do that Puljujärvi deal if he wants to leave for sure.

McLeod not ready, may push
Benson not ready, will push
Yamamoto iffy
Bouchard better than most of what we have, but needs to develop properly (1 full year AHL, no ifs, ands, or buts)

Bouchard was good enough to make the team last year. The reason he didn’t was to save a year on his entry level deal and one less player to protect in the next expansion draft. He more than likely will make the team next year if not a guarantee.

Then we're right back to zero player development.
He needs to work on his foot speed, he still has to adjust to playing with men, Bakersfield has a winning culture right now.

Bottomline, Bouchard needs to develop, even over develop down there before we end up ruining what looks to be a possible stud D-man.

I want Evan Bouchard to be the best D-man he could be for the Oilers, not Justin Schultz 2.0 getting wrecked every night and losing confidence.

He was good enough offensively for sure, defensively not so much. He needs more time in Bakersfield for sure... as do McLeod, Yamamoto and probably Benson, too.

If a player is good enough to make the team and physically ready let him play. There’s no need to play him more than 20 mins a night and other things to transition him into the NHL. Saying he needs to play in the AHL just for the hell of it is silly.

AHL is there as a developmental league.
Bouchard is still a rookie after all. He is going to make mistakes. I'd rather he makes those mistakes on a team where the results don't matter.

Bouchard has shown he can dominate kids his age. He needs to prove he can do the same against men.
He also needs to adjust to playing against easier competition and gain confidence dominating that league.

The question SHOULD be

"Does he have nothing left to learn at the AHL, even playing as much as he can handle?"

instead of

"Can he somewhat survive against the best of the best, on limited sheltered minutes with no clear mentor?"

You make good points and it’s a fine line to walk but if he can help the team win games wouldn’t you want him in the lineup. You said so yourself he’s better than half the options we have now. The oilers have options maybe if Bouchard is in the AHL Jones can slot in. As or benson he was drafted 4 years ago it’s time for him to make the jump. The NHL is a young mans league.

I don't necessarily agree with the whole timeline thing. NHL players making it big are a product of both development and more importantly, luck.

If we draft a Centerman this year, we might not see him for the next 2 years min since it's pretty crowded up top (McD, Nuge).
If we draft a Left Winger this year, we might see him next year at the earliest because we have options we need to play (Drai) and pay (Lucic).
If we draft a Right Winger this year, we might see him as early as next season since we REALLY don't have much topside (Kassian, really?).

The NHL is a business, not a sports league.
They're here to make money.

Just because Bouchard is better, doesnt mean it's the best business decision in the long run.
Slide eligibility and all that, upcoming expansion, cap ramifications, etc.

He can definitely help Wins, but on the flip side his mistakes could also cost them games.
On a bubble team like the Oilers, safe is better than flashy.

K I took Bouchard McLeod Benson and Yamamoto out and replaced them with the best internal options. IMO it’s a weaker roster by a large margin.

Well, no doubt it would be.

That's the fun part about Armchari GMing. You learn pretty quick that you can't really just go off trading players without opening holes in the lineup.
How signing certain players to more than theyre worth, or even for fair value, will limit your options someplace else.

Khaira needs to be here. He's cheap, he can play in the lineup every night, he's physical, he can chip in some offense.
Brodziak needs to be here simply because he's better than what you have down in the AHL, cheap, gone at the end of the season, and can serve as 4th line C without too much of a downside.
Gagner is severely overpaid, but he's gone at the end of the year. Can he give you better minutes than your AHL options that need to stay down there and develop (Pulju, Yama)? Yes.

Everything is a puzzle that needs to fit into a mold (salary cap). Size of pieces dictated by AAV. Too many overpaid players = forced to ice lower quality options because that's all you can afford.
Consequently, you still have 2.8m to play with. Get some veteran grinders (Bellemare, Boyle type players) and sign them to a 1 year overpay (if you have a strong rookie next year like McLeod).
No harm done because their contract is gone at season's end anyway.