Confirmed with Link: Draisaitl re-signs 8y 8.5M AAV

[Jumptheshark]

I like the deal

Mcdavid and Leon D are not Hall/Nuge/Eberle

nothing against those three

Mcdavid we all know makes the earth shake
Leon D is a tough, playing C who can do damage on his own

both need to improve on the dot

right now some hate these contracts and it sets in motion a nuge trade next summer--we assume Leon D will be our 2c making nuge our 3C at 6 mill a year and that is too much

deals look ouchi right now--but I truly believe in a few years we will be laughing how great they are

 

[guymez]

Drai's contract set a new standard. There was no precedent for a 2nd contract for a player of his caliber with such a high cap hit. The market wasn't inflated until Chia caved.

This is my issue as well.
Chicago won 3 Stanley Cups prior to being top heavy with contracts.
They have won nothing since they signed Kane and Toews to their inflated contracts. Those contracts have forced them to move out player after player in an effort to find cheaper bottom roster versions. So again...what have they won in that time....nothing. I dont even think that they have won a playoff series.

I am not suggesting that is going to be the fate of the Oilers as well but what I am suggesting is that when you are top heavy its damn hard to fill out the rest of the roster with cheap players. Damn hard.

With this contract not only are the Oilers paying $21M for their top 2 players (just like Chicago) they now have to find cheap alternatives for the bottom half of the roster...just like Chicago.
The Draisaitl contract is a game changer, not only 2nd contracts around the League, but for any Oiler contract that is coming up in the next year or so. (ie...Maroon).

Chiarellis job just became a whole lot tougher and its his own doing that made it that way.

 

[Aceboogie]

This is my issue as well.
Chicago won 3 Stanley Cups prior to being top heavy with contracts.
They have won nothing since they signed Kane and Toews to their inflated contracts. Those contracts have forced them to move out player after player in an effort to find cheaper bottom roster versions. So again...what have they won in that time....nothing. I dont even think that they have won a playoff series.

I am not suggesting that is going to be the fate of the Oilers as well but what I am suggesting is that when you are top heavy its damn hard to fill out the rest of the roster with cheap players. Damn hard.

With this contract not only are the Oilers paying $21M for their top 2 players (just like Chicago) they now have to find cheap alternatives for the bottom half of the roster...just like Chicago.
The Draisaitl contract is a game changer, not only 2nd contracts around the League, but for any Oiler contract that is coming up in the next year or so. (ie...Maroon).

Chiarellis job just became a whole lot tougher and its his own doing that made it that way.

Yes they have 2 bigger contracts but they also sign Seabrook to a gross overpay (much worse impact than either Kane or Toews), Hossa made a ton, Keith/Crawford made alot at the time contracts were signed. So they had alot more than 2 big contracts

They also won the cups when Kane/Toews/Seabrook were in their primes (moreso Toews). So id argue they wouldnt have won anything more or done any better if Toews/Kane signed for 8 mill each, that team was coming down no matter what. Now Toews is not in his prime and regressing so ofcourse they wont be as big of contenders. We have 1 elite and 1 generational talent about to enter their primes in next 3/4 years

 

[CupofOil]

Drai's contract set a new standard. There was no precedent for a 2nd contract for a player of his caliber with such a high cap hit. The market wasn't inflated until Chia caved.

It was going to set the new standard regardless whether it was 8 or 8.5. Drai wasn't getting less than 8 on a max term deal based on what Tarasenko got.
I wish that Chia would have waited him out a bit longer and gotten the number down a bit but it wasn't going to be a big difference either way as the market was set by Tarasenko.

Obviously Chia believes in this player and thinks that he would be paying him a whole lot more had he bridged him for 2-3 years and wait for the 3rd contract to give him the big bucks. There's risk in both scenarios.

I've gotten to the point where I'm fine with this even if it is an overpay today. Having high level talents like McDavid and Drai was going to be costly no matter what, better to get it done now before it cost them more. I'm not going to quibble anymore about a .5-1M overpay to a high level player. It's the RNH, Lucic and Russell contracts that will cause problems down the line due to term moreso than the AAV. The problem isn't overpaying high end talent, it's overpaying mediocre players.

 

[guymez]

Yes they have 2 bigger contracts but they also sign Seabrook to a gross overpay (much worse impact than either Kane or Toews), Hossa made a ton, Keith/Crawford made alot at the time contracts were signed. So they had alot more than 2 big contracts

They also won the cups when Kane/Toews/Seabrook were in their primes (moreso Toews). So id argue they wouldnt have won anything more or done any better if Toews/Kane signed for 8 mill each, that team was coming down no matter what. Now Toews is not in his prime and regressing so ofcourse they wont be as big of contenders. We have 1 elite and 1 generational talent about to enter their primes in next 3/4 years

Doesnt change the point of my post which was that Chiarelli changed the landscape of the team (and the League) with this contract. The bottom half of the roster will now be be a revolving door.
His job is going to be very hard after this season.

BTW...whats the difference between an elite and generational talent?

 

[joestevens29]

Drai's contract set a new standard. There was no precedent for a 2nd contract for a player of his caliber with such a high cap hit. The market wasn't inflated until Chia caved.

Wouldn't Tarasenko be the guy that set the standard?

 

[McDNicks17]

Drai's contract set a new standard. There was no precedent for a 2nd contract for a player of his caliber with such a high cap hit. The market wasn't inflated until Chia caved.

I think it was Leon's play that set the new standard.

I don't think there's anyone of his caliber that has signed a contract in the current cap conditions.

 

[Digger12]

This is my issue as well.
Chicago won 3 Stanley Cups prior to being top heavy with contracts.
They have won nothing since they signed Kane and Toews to their inflated contracts. Those contracts have forced them to move out player after player in an effort to find cheaper bottom roster versions. So again...what have they won in that time....nothing. I dont even think that they have won a playoff series.

I am not suggesting that is going to be the fate of the Oilers as well but what I am suggesting is that when you are top heavy its damn hard to fill out the rest of the roster with cheap players. Damn hard.

With this contract not only are the Oilers paying $21M for their top 2 players (just like Chicago) they now have to find cheap alternatives for the bottom half of the roster...just like Chicago.
The Draisaitl contract is a game changer, not only 2nd contracts around the League, but for any Oiler contract that is coming up in the next year or so. (ie...Maroon).

Chiarellis job just became a whole lot tougher and its his own doing that made it that way.

Not to nitpick, but after Kane and Toews signed their big contracts in the summer of 2014 the following season Chicago did go on to win their most recent Cup.

And while they haven't done anything in the playoffs the past couple years, they've remained a consistent 100+ point team. It's not like those contracts kept them from fielding a competitive team.

EDIT: After checking, I think those dollar values didn't actually kick in until the 15/16 season, so I guess technically they weren't cashing those big cheques until after their last Cup win. IMO they've still been a Cup contender in that time though.

 

[PaPaDee]

Wouldn't Tarasenko be the guy that set the standard?

It did at the time, and I think Leon's moves the needle a bit further. They both had similar production prior to getting their 8 year deals, with Leon's worth more.

 

[guymez]

Not to nitpick, but after Kane and Toews signed their big contracts in the summer of 2014 the following season Chicago did go on to win their most recent Cup.

And while they haven't done anything in the playoffs the past couple years, they've remained a consistent 100+ point team. It's not like those contracts kept them from fielding a competitive team.

EDIT: After checking, I think those dollar values didn't actually kick in until the 15/16 season, so I guess technically they weren't cashing those big cheques until after their last Cup win. IMO they've still been a Cup contender in that time though.

Yeah...I was just going to say that those contracts didnt kick in until a year later. Once they did it was a game changer for them.

This Draisaitl contract is going to be a game changer for the Oilers as well. There is no getting around that.

 

[Aceboogie]

Doesnt change the point of my post which was that Chiarelli changed the landscape of the team (and the League) with this contract. The bottom half of the roster will now be be a revolving door.
His job is going to be very hard after this season.

BTW...whats the difference between an elite and generational talent?

Not sure I really see much of an alternative/difference. Chiarelli locked up 2 great talents, and the cap situation is really not all that dire. I mean we are getting big discounts in the Klefbom/Larsson/Talbot contracts and our D is pretty much set for next 5 years. Big contracts to great players arent the issue. Its the Lucic/Russell type overpays that need to be delat with

Also dont see much of an issue with having the bottom lines be a revolving door. Thats what they should be. Chiarelli is actually very good at acquiring good cheap depth (Letestu/Kassian/Cagguila/Benning etc). We can cycle thru these guys every 3 years because they are replaceable and should be the cheap players on your roster

His job wont be all that hard. Flush Russell after next year and open up 4 mil of cap space, flush Lucic in next 2/3 years and thats 6 mil, if RNH doesnt progress dump him for some younger assets and get 6 mil more. Hell sekera can be dealt if Nurse steals his spot. We have 21.5 mil of potential cap space to open up in next 5 years that wont really kill us if we deal them (provided our prospects step up or we find younger good talent)

Elite is like Kopitar/Toews level. Generational is Crosby/Malkin level. In 2 years we could have the equivalent 1/2 punch of Crosby/Kopitar down the middle

 

[joestevens29]

It did at the time, and I think Leon's moves the needle a bit further. They both had similar production prior to getting their 8 year deals, with Leon's worth more.

Sure it moves the needle, but it's not like PC came out of left field and did something that probably would've happened anyway. Every year some sort of needle gets moved.

 

[Aceboogie]

Interesting to note: HfOil is waaaaay more pessimisitic about this contract then general media is. I go on twitter to see the national media (who certainly arent pro Oiler) to see them defend and even praise the contract.

 

[FlameChampion]

Honestly I think McDavids contract set the new standard.

Based on McDavids contract, Kunetsov and Johansen got 7.8 and 8.0. Based on those contracts Drai ended up getting 8.5.

After signing McDavid to 12.5, it pretty much forced Chiarelli to give Drai 8.0+.

I think it would of smarter to sign Drai before McDavid. He could of probably got Drai for 7 or maybe 7.5. But once McDavid was signed, pretty hard to get Drai under 8 imo.

I am happy to have both players for the next 8/9 years though.

 

[ThePhoenixx]

Yeah...I was just going to say that those contracts didnt kick in until a year later. Once they did it was a game changer for them.

This Draisaitl contract is going to be a game changer for the Oilers as well. There is no getting around that.

Draisatls' contract takes up the same percentage of the cap as Kane and Toews did when they signed their after ELC 6 mil deals. They won lots of cups after that and I think that Leon can be as good as those two.

So what you are really saying is that McDavid is overpaid?

 

[Weitz]

Not sure I really see much of an alternative/difference. Chiarelli locked up 2 great talents, and the cap situation is really not all that dire. I mean we are getting big discounts in the Klefbom/Larsson/Talbot contracts and our D is pretty much set for next 5 years. Big contracts to great players arent the issue. Its the Lucic/Russell type overpays that need to be delat with

Also dont see much of an issue with having the bottom lines be a revolving door. Thats what they should be. Chiarelli is actually very good at acquiring good cheap depth (Letestu/Kassian/Cagguila/Benning etc). We can cycle thru these guys every 3 years because they are replaceable and should be the cheap players on your roster

His job wont be all that hard. Flush Russell after next year and open up 4 mil of cap space, flush Lucic in next 2/3 years and thats 6 mil, if RNH doesnt progress dump him for some younger assets and get 6 mil more. Hell sekera can be dealt if Nurse steals his spot. We have 21.5 mil of potential cap space to open up in next 5 years that wont really kill us if we deal them (provided our prospects step up or we find younger good talent)

Elite is like Kopitar/Toews level. Generational is Crosby/Malkin level. In 2 years we could have the equivalent 1/2 punch of Crosby/Kopitar down the middle

That's some crazy mental gymnastics to think the salary cap isn't dire. They have 13 players signed to 60.3 million next year. We will be saying good bye to contributing players next summer because we can't afford them and we know Chia isn't a good negotiator.

 

[guymez]

Draisatls' contract takes up the same percentage of the cap as Kane and Toews did when they signed their after ELC 6 mil deals. They won lots of cups after that and I think that Leon can be as good as those two.

So what you are really saying is that McDavid is overpaid?

Nope. What I am saying is that Chias job filling out the roster is about to get a lot tougher.

 

[Digger12]

Yeah...I was just going to say that those contracts didnt kick in until a year later. Once they did it was a game changer for them.

This Draisaitl contract is going to be a game changer for the Oilers as well. There is no getting around that.

LOL...glad I caught it before you were able to slap me with a rolled up newspaper then.

It's a game changer, no debating that.

 

[guymez]

Not sure I really see much of an alternative/difference. Chiarelli locked up 2 great talents, and the cap situation is really not all that dire. I mean we are getting big discounts in the Klefbom/Larsson/Talbot contracts and our D is pretty much set for next 5 years. Big contracts to great players arent the issue. Its the Lucic/Russell type overpays that need to be delat with

Also dont see much of an issue with having the bottom lines be a revolving door. Thats what they should be. Chiarelli is actually very good at acquiring good cheap depth (Letestu/Kassian/Cagguila/Benning etc). We can cycle thru these guys every 3 years because they are replaceable and should be the cheap players on your roster

His job wont be all that hard. Flush Russell after next year and open up 4 mil of cap space, flush Lucic in next 2/3 years and thats 6 mil, if RNH doesnt progress dump him for some younger assets and get 6 mil more. Hell sekera can be dealt if Nurse steals his spot. We have 21.5 mil of potential cap space to open up in next 5 years that wont really kill us if we deal them (provided our prospects step up or we find younger good talent)

Elite is like Kopitar/Toews level. Generational is Crosby/Malkin level. In 2 years we could have the equivalent 1/2 punch of Crosby/Kopitar down the middle

As Weitz has correctly pointed out...negotiating contracts does not play into Chiarellis strengths.
That revolving door is going to be a bigger issue than you think IMO.

 

[ThePhoenixx]

Nope. What I am saying is that Chias job filling out the roster is about to get a lot tougher.

You are saying that because you claim that Draisatl is overpaid and that Chia is poor at negotiating contracts.

I just posted that his contract is not an overpayment. The year he had was worthy of that percentage. That same percentage allowed the Blackhawks to win multiple cups.

What's the problem here?

 

[PaPaDee]

As Weitz has correctly pointed out...negotiating contracts does not play into Chiarellis strengths.
That revolving door is going to be a bigger issue than you think IMO.

It's definitely one of his biggest weaknesses, maybe him being a former player agent plays a role to some extent? I don't think he necessarily overpays a tonne, but all of these slight over payments, buyouts, etc. will cause challenges down the road for sure.

 

[Dorian2]

Doesnt change the point of my post which was that Chiarelli changed the landscape of the team (and the League) with this contract. The bottom half of the roster will now be be a revolving door.
His job is going to be very hard after this season.

BTW...whats the difference between an elite and generational talent?

I disagree Guymez. McDavid changed the landscape of the team (and League) with his epicness. Chia had to follow suit with the contract (s).

 

[guymez]

You are saying that because you claim that Draisatl is overpaid and that Chia is poor at negotiating contracts.

I just posted that his contract is not an overpayment. The year he had was worthy of that percentage. That same percentage allowed the Blackhawks to win multiple cups.

What's the problem here?

I am not sure I can make this any clearer for you than I already have.

 

[PaPaDee]

You are saying that because you claim that Draisatl is overpaid and that Chia is poor at negotiating contracts.

I just posted that his contract is not an overpayment. The year he had was worthy of that percentage. That same percentage allowed the Blackhawks to win multiple cups.

What's the problem here?

From a % standpoint, it's fine, but as far as I understand, that's not how most GM's negotiate contracts. They look at comparables in the market. And from all of the comparables I can find, he's a bit overpaid.

 

[Mr Positive]

This is my issue as well.
Chicago won 3 Stanley Cups prior to being top heavy with contracts.
They have won nothing since they signed Kane and Toews to their inflated contracts. Those contracts have forced them to move out player after player in an effort to find cheaper bottom roster versions. So again...what have they won in that time....nothing. I dont even think that they have won a playoff series.

I am not suggesting that is going to be the fate of the Oilers as well but what I am suggesting is that when you are top heavy its damn hard to fill out the rest of the roster with cheap players. Damn hard.

With this contract not only are the Oilers paying $21M for their top 2 players (just like Chicago) they now have to find cheap alternatives for the bottom half of the roster...just like Chicago.
The Draisaitl contract is a game changer, not only 2nd contracts around the League, but for any Oiler contract that is coming up in the next year or so. (ie...Maroon).

Chiarellis job just became a whole lot tougher and its his own doing that made it that way.

To me, the Klefbom and Larsson contracts completely cover the pressure that the McDavid and Drai contracts give. There is no excuse not to have a deep roster. The RNH situation is much bigger than the cap, and he needs to prove he's worth 6 million AAV whether we have cap space or not, and if we gained that 6 million in space it would basically remove our cap issues outright. Not only that, but I think Chia will find a way to keep RNH if he can prove he's worth his cash this season.

Every team out there has an identity based around their weaknesses as much as their strengths. The cap ensures that no one can have it all. Pittsburgh won the cup with big contracts surrounded by small ones, all while missing Letang.

As for Chicago, they were #1 in the west this year. They are still a great team. Getting swept in the playoffs doesn't take away from that, and I don't see how you could show that the cap is the reason that they got swept. This is nothing like after their 2010 cup where there was an exodus of players like Buff and Ladd.

And imo, the pressing problem in Chicago has more to do with the decline of Seabrook than the Kane and Toews deals. Maybe even a decline in Keith and of course the decline and loss of Hossa. They are getting older, and finding new elite D is not about how much cap space you have. That is why they for Murphy. It's moreso to find a gem somewhere than it is for cap issues. A good GM can fulfill both goals at once, and it is because that team has players like Toews and Kane that Murphy has any chance of becoming great.