The Edmonton Oilers and Leon Draisaitl are going to be the biggest stories this offseason in free agency. Draisaitl is eligible to sign an extension with the Oilers on July 1.
The Oilers ended up losing in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. His contract negotiations are the furthest thing from his mind. But for the first time on Wednesday, he expressed his love for playing for the Edmonton Oilers.
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“It’s going to take a little bit of time to figure out what I want, what the Oilers want, what everybody wants and go from there,” Draisaitl said in a press conference Wednesday. “I love being an Oiler more than anything.”
With Jeff Jackson taking over and Ken Holland not returning to the Edmonton Oilers, the priority is locking up Leon Draisaitl. With the salary cap expected to increase, the Oilers will have money to play with.
Let’s be honest: The COVID cap has hurt many groups and those who wanted to do it. But when Draisaitl’s new extension kicks in, if he were to sign with the Oilers, the salary cap would be in the low $90 million range. Of course, Connor McDavid will need a new contract, and when his new contract starts, the total salary will be around $100 million.
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But sticking with Draisaitl, the question now is what he does with his next deal.
TSN’s Ryan Rishaug and TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button answer that very question.
Ryan Rishaug: “Okay, there are two aspects to this. Will he sign and how does it look dollar wise and what if he is not willing to sign an extension? Let’s deal with these one at a time because they are both big. I think Craig’s number is $14 (million) minimum. Maybe beyond that. And you know, I have, look I have spreadsheets. I have always thought that Leon has been thinking about this, for a few years now I have run a bunch of numbers such as whether the owners can compete with Leon Draisaitl at $ 14 and a half million and McDavid at $ 16 (million) say in his extension or even more. I believe it can be difficult but you have to take orders and be willing to open the checkbook and find out how to make this work. “
Craig Button: “Now I’m starting to show my stats. Good. Let’s play a little math game here. The cap goes up to $88 million next year, the next year, I’ll call it $94.
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Rishaug: “That will be the first year of his new contract.
Button: “Then it’s the year after $100 million, which is McDavid’s first year.”
Rishaug: “That will be his first year.”
Button: “You tell me $14 (million) and $16 for Connor McDavid.”
Rishaug: “14 and a half. $16 and a half.”
Button: “Okay, great. Okay, that’s fine. $30 million. That’s $69 million to work on building a team around Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.”
Rishaug: “$10 (million) or more for Evan Bouchard.”
Button: “Sign up and sign up. Like it happens. Yes, is it easy? No, it’s not. But that’s a management job. Like if everything is just handed to you on a platter and it’s easy to do everyone can do it. But when you’re talking about Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl together in those numbers, you know the title goes up a lot. The growth in the game is really big. And it can be even higher than that. So that’s where it’s going to be. And that could be part of the reckoning for Leon Draisaitl and his team.
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What will it look like? You know, I’m going to leave money on the table? And of course, I think there’s another part to this right, and just watch it unfold over the course of this year. This is a very close group now and it is a group. A good team. And yes, can they come back and compete for the Stanley Cup next year? There is no question that they can based on what they have shown this year. So what are you doing?
Because you can say that maybe he won’t sign and we see other players like David Pastrnak doing this. He waited until the final months before signing his extension as a potential restricted free agent. That was the current record for the Boston Bruins. They found a way to do it. This is a great Edmonton Oilers team. I don’t think this is about him not signing. I think you will have to wait for it.”
It will be interesting to see where these discussions go. Leon Draisaitl gave the hockey world something to talk about this summer.
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