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

[McAsuno]

I've already responded to the playoffs bit. It doesn't hold up to scrutiny. It's the ultimate small sample and even in this specific example, hits some problematic stumbling blocks (Drai got half his points in two games; was invisible for much of Sharks series and Game 7 vs the Ducks).

More concerning are the 82 games he played before that. Elite with McDavid, average 2C without.

He had the flu bug, like I said. It even looked like Connor and Maroon played with injuries. Maroon, especially in his ribs. Whether you disagree about the playoffs not holding up to scrutiny, its still a factor for Draisait's camp regardless. Then the signings of players like Kuznetsov was also another factor for his camp.

And like I previously mentioned, the real questions will remain for Drai next season aka driving his own line with two specific wingers with success.

 

[Soliloquy of a Dogge]

Was hoping for 7.5 million... 8.5 is, I guess, not horrible, all things considered but eh.

Glad to have him and Connor locked up for the next 8 years. Just hope the cap increases instead of stagnating or lowering.

 

[McAsuno]

i'd be willing to bet that drai never scores more than he did this season for the rest of your career.... i wouldn't be shocked if it happened, but i certainly don't expect it

Jesus, he'll never score more than 29 goals as a 21 year old who still has a long career ahead of him as he continues to mature and get better in the league. You're sure pretty awful at betting.

 

[SK13]

And like I previously mentioned, the real questions will remain for Drai next season aka driving his own line with two specific wingers with success.

Well, of course.

There's every possibility he's just legit and this becomes a non-issue. What concerns me is there's little way to know that now, and no reason to take the risk that he's not. Especially 7 weeks before he NEEDED to sign.

 

[guymez]

There's a difference between thinking critically and simply being critical.

There's obvious risk with this contract.

If you can support your opinion then it isnt being critical just for the sake of being critical.
Do you not think that I am supporting my opinion?

 

[KCC]

couldn't agree more.... we are in serious trouble in 2018-19.... RNH is gone for sure, and likely maroon as well

I mean, rnh is gone either way even if drai sign for 7 mill a year. The cap crunch would be pretty much just as bad moving forward. We will have to hope the cap goes up more as the years go on. I'm sure it will

 

[Jejune]

These two deals mean we can't keep Nuge at basically any cost. We are going to need some talented wingers somewhere... Nuge is going to be our 3rd line C making $6M playing behind the most expensive tandem of 2 players in the NHL. It's not going to be possible to keep him.

If the cap goes up enough I think it can happen. We may also have to downgrade/let go some of the expiring contracts such as Letestu and replace them in house.

If given a choice between Maroon (+ return for RNH) or RNH, who do you take?

To me, it depends on the year he has. If he's upped his value enough and will return a young, cheap scorer, I think it's something you have to look at.

Another result of this contract is we're likely not going to see any long-term defense upgrades. Which to me is a bummer.

 

[McAsuno]

Well, of course.

There's every possibility he's just legit and this becomes a non-issue. What concerns me is there's little way to know that, and no reason to take the risk that he's not. Especially 7 weeks before he NEEDED to sign.

There's little way to know for both sides. Who even knows what's been going on for both sides from the closed doors. At best, all we can do is hope Draisaitl proves people wrong again. I don't doubt he'll get even better as like other players since they just got their playoff taste. The pressure and expectations to win the cup now ASAP is an absolute high, no doubt.

 

[Seachd]

Its $1M for 8 years. Its $21M for 2 players for the next 8 years.
I wouldnt have minded $7.5M at all especially if the term was 6 or 5 years.

I'll never understand how $7.5 million can be fine, but $8.5 million is terrible, especially over a long term contract.

 

[Senor Catface]

Draisaitl dominated a round of the playoffs (including a 5 point game in a blowout).

People seem to forget that the first 4 games of the San Jose series he was MIA. Hell, I remember a few people around here who wanted to bench him in that series before he started getting going.

He was MIA because he was super sick.

Kind of important information.

As a fanbase we can't discount how good his playoffs were.

He was deathly sick for a lot of the first round, and he was still 8th overall for points in the playoffs, even though he didn't get any 3rd and 4th round games.

 

[LaGu]

Ok, I am done thinking that it is an overpayment. Cap will go up at least $5M next season and it will be AWESOME following Matthews/Nylander/Marner negotiations/signings next summer!

8 years of McDrai!

Klefbom Larsson will take a big step this year and become a good 1st pair, being paid under $9M together. Awesome value and they will offset McDrai for the lenght of their contracts (4 years for Larsson I believe).

 

[Ninety7]

Nuge is gone for sure

 

[guymez]

I'll never understand how $7.5 million can be fine, but $8.5 million is terrible, especially over a long term contract.

I cant understand why you cant understand that.

That million has to come from somewhere and it has to be done for 8 years.
Like SK13 has posted...there are implications with this that will reverberate through the makeup of the team.

RNH is as good as gone.

People that think the cap will just continue to go up should have no problem buying real estate at its peak. Nothing just keeps going up year after year....I expect that to be true with the cap as well.

 

[PaPaDee]

With all of our RFA's locked-up, I believe we have around $8M in capspace available. Obviously, some of that needs to be earmarked for bonus overages, but it does leave enough from for another signing.

 

[Soliloquy of a Dogge]

Ok, I am done thinking that it is an overpayment. Cap will go up at least $5M next season and it will be AWESOME following Matthews/Nylander/Marner negotiations/signings next summer!

8 years of McDrai!

Klefbom Larsson will take a big step this year and become a good 1st pair, being paid under $9M together. Awesome value and they will offset McDrai for the lenght of their contracts (4 years for Larsson I believe).

Source?

And powerball numbers from the future while you're at it, please.

 

[McJadeddog]

Sure I'll avatar bet you that.

You can just add that losing bet to the last avatar bet you lost to me.

well, i don't know how we would do this for a bet? his career is going to be rather long, lol.... what do you recommend for a point total to bet on for next year? 70?

 

[LaGu]

At the end of the day, it's a million dollars more.

Which is basically a fourth line player.

At TD it is way more than a 4th liner. $1M per year at TD can give you a really good rental for a SC run.

 

[Soliloquy of a Dogge]

As for those who discount Draisaitl's performance solely as being on McDavid's wing, how quickly we forget that for most of December, and certainly the early and middle part of it, McDavid was slumping (by his lofty standards) and Drai was clearly the driving force on that line.

He's shown he can elevate his play, as he proved in the playoffs. Consistency is now the key. Hope these kids' work ethic continues to be where it's been at now that they're set for a few lifetimes. We saw what happened with Eberle and RNH (yes, inept management, not same caliber of players yada yada) and there is a tendency to relax and not try to prove yourself as much after these infusions of cash into the bank account.

 

[McJadeddog]

Jesus, he'll never score more than 29 goals as a 21 year old who still has a long career ahead of him as he continues to mature and get better in the league. You're sure pretty awful at betting.

he had a 16.9 shooting% this year, while spending most of his time on the wing of the best passer in a generation.... yeah, i actually think there is a pretty darn good chance that he doesn't surpass 29 goals again

 

[Senor Catface]

he had a 16.9 shooting% this year, while spending most of his time on the wing of the best passer in a generation.... yeah, i actually think there is a pretty darn good chance that he doesn't surpass 29 goals again

lol you're wrong about so much stuff it's crazy

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

he had a 16.9 shooting% this year, while spending most of his time on the wing of the best passer in a generation.... yeah, i actually think there is a pretty darn good chance that he doesn't surpass 29 goals again

I guess we can only hope.

 

[McAsuno]

he had a 16.9 shooting% this year, while spending most of his time on the wing of the best passer in a generation.... yeah, i actually think there is a pretty darn good chance that he doesn't surpass 29 goals again

You sure make it sound like Draisaitl's an old veteran
He's 21. You really have the mindset of him not getting over 29 goals his whole entire career in the future? I mean then again, you thought McDavid was nothing special, so I won't be even a bit surprised when you're wrong again regarding Draisaitl.

 

[nexttothemoon]

well, i don't know how we would do this for a bet? his career is going to be rather long, lol.... what do you recommend for a point total to bet on for next year? 70?

Well he could get injured 1 game into this next season... so how about using his point per game stat.

If he plays 40 or less games (less than half a season)... the bet is called off because it's a smaller sample size... if he plays 41 or more games the bet is on.

So basically if he scores at a rate of higher than 77/82 pts next season .939 pts per game then I win the bet... less than that and you win the bet.

Seems like a decent bet and it could go either way.

Of course you said he likely wouldn't do it over the course of his career... so it's more risky to nail it down to one year... but why not. If he hits higher than .939 pts per game in this very next season... that's pretty solid proof that he's getting better in a hurry and you'd be wrong in a hurry as well.

 

[tempest2i]

If you can support your opinion then it isnt being critical just for the sake of being critical.
Do you not think that I am supporting my opinion?

I can read the posts you have made which support your opinion. So I'm very well aware that you're not blindly being critical for the sake of being critical.

Really what bothers me is the underlying assumption that if Oilers management was just better (or just more ruthless) at their jobs they would have found a better solution.

The idea that if Leon is willing to sign for 8.5x8 today, they could have negotiated him down to 7.5x8 without this turning into a massive distraction by simply forcing it upon Leon.

This isn't a post directly solely at you either, there's a common theme around here right now that the Oilers should have found a way to get Leon to signed for less. That management should have put their big boy pants on and really showed Leon who is the boss here. The attitude that Chia and Co should have dragged this on and maybe even allowed it to stretch into the season to show Leon that they have the power and they will dominate this negotiation for the betterment of the team.

 

[Digger12]

Not a huge fan of the 8.5M dollar value, but love that it's an 8 year deal.

Ideally I'd have preferred a million/yr less, but the way I look at it in a couple of years we're going to have a CBA war that'll rival what went on in 2004 (especially if Chelios manages to worm his way into the leadership, he's a big time hawk and Bettman hater), and who knows what smoking ruin will be left when it's all said and done. Who's to say the cap will be computed completely differently, or will be replaced by a luxury tax system or turned into an NBA-like soft cap?

I'd rather pay a bit extra per year to get the cost certainty an 8 yr deal brings, vs. cheap out on a bridge deal and then CBA Armageddon hits and who the hell knows WHAT the next Draisaitl deal would look like.