Confirmed Signing with Link: [EDM] F Leon Draisaitl signs extension with the Oilers (8 years, $14M AAV; begins 2025-26)

[CantHaveTkachev]

Jesus man. You guys now have (or will have. $50M wrapped up in 4 guys. I like the oilers but that’s gonna be tough putting together an 18 man supporting roster with $38M.

how do you know what the cap will be like in 2026?

 

[StuckOutHere]

Also, seeing arguments for lowering the max contract amount via the max %. First of all, no one actually takes the max so it is somewhat irrelevant. Secondly the NHLPA represents wayyyyyyy more low and mid salary guys who are the actual victims of this perceived "squeeze" so getting players to actually care about this issue seems like a stretch. I can't imagine the PA going to war for the 1% of players who earn contracts like these. If anything they should be attacking the minimum salary versus the maximum salary, mandating max roster sizes, not make trading money so damn difficult, and going after anti-tanking measures that see tens of millions of dollars just not entering the "system".

 

[Three On Zero]

Imagine thinking, double checks threads post....Kaprizov is better then Draisatl. That's a new bingo number called for sure.

Can someone dig up the numbers for Drai without McDavid. Remind some that the guy isn't just riding mcdavids coat tails. That's just copium bs.

Great deal overall. The dynamic duo stay together. Team has some quality shots left for their cup

 

[dirtydanglez]

Well, yeah, 12.6 is cheaper than 14. But it's not a comparable. The cap is going up again and Mackinnon signed that contract before ever hitting 100 points. We can say that mackinnon is worth more, but there's no doubt in my mind that had the contract been signed today, that number would have been closer to the 14m range than 12.6.

well yea but I'm talking about the percentages not the total. mack was still the better player and took less of cap hit percentage.

 

[cliffclaven]

how do you know what the cap will be like in 2026?

Rumors are $92M? Even if it’s 100M that is still a shit ton of money for 4 guys

 

[Honour Over Glory]

So I guess going to the finals the one time was enough for Draisaitl. Because that cap hit and whatever Bouchard will get as well basically means that roster is going to struggle for quality over quantity.

 

[BLONG7]

Jesus man. You guys now have (or will have. $50M wrapped up in 4 guys. I like the oilers but that’s gonna be tough putting together an 18 man supporting roster with $38M.

It's called the Shanaplan eh.....looks like the TO situation....

 

[Fatass]

how do you know what the cap will be like in 2026?

The NHL won’t grow fast. It’s Canadian clubs and biggest money producers are close to their max. The smaller markets will need to grow. The cap will go up, but gradually. 50 million for four players (great players for sure) is not a recipe for success.

 

[Soundwave]

Rumors are $92M? Even if it’s 100M that is still a shit ton of money for 4 guys

92 mill for next season, then a larger bump after to up to 97+ mill would be reasonable because the Canadian TV deal is up and as much as people want to say live TV doesn't get you paid anymore, the NHL (US TV deal) and NBA (new TV deal) have gotten enormous new contracts.

Then probably not much longer after that we're looking at north of 100 million (101 mill, 105 mill, etc.).

Pretty much all of Draisaitl's raise is already priced into the Oilers cap too. 1.9 mill from Neal buyout and 3.2 million from Brown's bonus comes off the cap next July, that takes Leon from 8.5 to 13.5, that's virtually his entire raise.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

It's called the Shanaplan eh.....looks like the TO situation....

Yes and no. Toronto can at least move some stuff around. But Edmonton has almost 60m+ tied up in 7 players next season. Then next summer it's Mcdavid's turn for his extension and that's going to be what, 15m or whatever, based on cap going up and the percentage.

Won't win anything unless they're getting multiple teams to broker retention and Kane is likely a buyout candidate next summer.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

The NHL won’t grow fast. It’s Canadian clubs and biggest money producers are close to their max. The smaller markets will need to grow. The cap will go up, but gradually. 50 million for four players (great players for sure) is not a recipe for success.

the cap went up 4.5 million this year alone...with the Canadian TV deal up, there's no reason why it can't be almost 100 million by 2026

 

[North Cole]

Apologies if this has been answered but I don't really wanna sift through 30+ pages looking for the answer.

Does Drai own property in a lower tax area? Just curious why he decided to take the vast majority of his deal in signing bonuses. Wouldn't his bonus be taxed like 50% each year if his principal residence is in Alberta?

I'm not sure it matters that much, there aren't many lower tax areas in Canada than Alberta. Taking a signing bonus does a bunch of stuff

- Gets you money faster, better for present values
- Makes it harder to be boughtout (as unlikely as that is)
- Signing bonus is not based on games played so they are payable in the event of a lockout
- lose less to jock tax (paying tax in each city you play in)

Theoretically he could have property in some tax free US state but I mean, he's still going to have to file a Canadian tax return since there's almost no way he's considered a non-resident as he spends the majority of his year in Canada. Then you have to file on world income anyway. Maybe there's some other way to dodge the Alberta tax but I don't really think that's the purpose of all the signing bonuses.

Also, I'm of the opinion, if you're making 14M USD in Canada, you can afford the tax since you strictly win on the FX rate. Though that's a controversial topic on HF, since most people argue living in Canada is hyper costly compared to the US.. true in some cities but I would definitely argue it's not in Edmonton

 

[Soundwave]

Yes and no. Toronto can at least move some stuff around. But Edmonton has almost 60m+ tied up in 7 players next season. Then next summer it's Mcdavid's turn for his extension and that's going to be what, 15m or whatever, based on cap going up and the percentage.

Won't win anything unless they're getting multiple teams to broker retention and Kane is likely a buyout candidate next summer.

Again, Pittsburgh won twice (even worse the second time in 2017 because Letang's salary didn't even contribute at all to their Cup win) with a similar cap layout.

Top 3 forwards + top D-Man + a starting goalie

Crosby 8.7 + Malkin 9.5 + Letang 7.5 + Kessel 6.8 + MAF 5.75 = 53.5% of the cap (71.4 mill cap roof)

McDavid 16 + Draisaitl 14 + Bouchard 11 + Hyman 5.5 + Skinner 5(?) = 53% of projected 97 mill cap

97 may be a low cap projection too, the cap is rising like 4-5 million a year as is and that's without a new TV deal in Canada which is coming up. The price of all TV deals is going way up, the price of watching all live entertainment is up (see if movie tickets are the same price today as 10 years ago).

What they don't have is the luxury of Chiarelli and Holland signing some dumb contracts, so like another Lucic signing or Jack Campbell type signing is out of the question.

 

[Half Clapper]

Gifted firsts? That's called "Luck of the Draw". If the league didn't monkey with draft lottery odds to try to stop teams from stockpiling 1st overall picks, the Oilers only end up Hall and Nuge as 1st rounders.

I'll give you the rest though. There is a lot to not like about the Oilers. Half expecting Tony DeAngelo to come in on a PTO too.

I just think the Oilers were so bad for so long without even trying to compete, which I am not a fan of. I think a team should always compete every night no matter what management wants. Ya, I def could see that happening.

Also, the whole Perlini waiver mess wasn't a good look either. His mom tweeting about it was why he wasn't resigned, but who knows for sure. There is a reason a lot of fans are cheering for them to lose.

 

[WaitingForThatCab]

This isn't a terrible contract. The market for Draisatl right now was a retirement contract, and Edmonton is clearly planning to be going for the #1 overall pick again six years from now, so it works out for everyone.

 

[Half Clapper]

I'm not sure it matters that much, there aren't many lower tax areas in Canada than Alberta. Taking a signing bonus does a bunch of stuff

- Gets you money faster, better for present values
- Makes it harder to be boughtout (as unlikely as that is)
- Signing bonus is not based on games played so they are payable in the event of a lockout
- lose less to jock tax (paying tax in each city you play in)

Theoretically he could have property in some tax free US state but I mean, he's still going to have to file a Canadian tax return since there's almost no way he's considered a non-resident as he spends the majority of his year in Canada. Then you have to file on world income anyway. Maybe there's some other way to dodge the Alberta tax but I don't really think that's the purpose of all the signing bonuses.

Also, I'm of the opinion, if you're making 14M USD in Canada, you can afford the tax since you strictly win on the FX rate. Though that's a controversial topic on HF, since most people argue living in Canada is hyper costly compared to the US.. true in some cities but I would definitely argue it's not in Edmonton

These people have enough money that it shouldn't matter how much they're paying in taxes. A human being only needs so much. You don't need expensive furniture, clothes, vehicles, homes, or jewellery etc. People are brainwashed by the media and corporate entities. I am sick of the greed in society today. Wtf went wrong? At one time pro athletes had 2nd jobs.

It is just too bad the tax money isn't used properly.

 

[Oil Spill]

Over their careers? Definitely. But Nylander has been steadily rising and was 9 points shy of Draisaitl last season. 11.5x8 vs 14x8. I'd say the pay difference is representative of their talent gaps with both probably getting 1-1.5 mil more than they should

No Drai is worth every penny, 4 x 50 goal scorer, 6 straight 100 point season, hart, lindsey. He has earned every penny he makes imo.

 

[Soundwave]

Yes and no. Toronto can at least move some stuff around. But Edmonton has almost 60m+ tied up in 7 players next season. Then next summer it's Mcdavid's turn for his extension and that's going to be what, 15m or whatever, based on cap going up and the percentage.

Won't win anything unless they're getting multiple teams to broker retention and Kane is likely a buyout candidate next summer.

People need to stop using the Leafs as the benchmark for everything. Their core players don't elevate their game in the playoffs, that's their problem.

McDavid has the highest playoff PPG of any active player, Draisaitl is no.2, Bouchard is way up there too almost tied with Makar and close to Crosby.

 

[TGWL]

well yea but I'm talking about the percentages not the total. mack was still the better player and took less of cap hit percentage.

2 years ago you could try and make an argument for either way, but I don't think you can say "Mack was still the better player." I get it, they won the cup, but Draisaitl scored 55 goals that year and put up 2 points per game in the post season. I think if the contract was signed in Sept 2023 instead of 2022 you can make a better claim to that. But it's not comparable when it was signed 2 years prior with not a lot of increasing cap and for a player that hasn't consistently broken 100 points, or ever at that point. Of course it looks great now that Mackinnon is putting up 100+ points. Nearly 150.

 

[LTIR]

Rumors are $92M? Even if it’s 100M that is still a shit ton of money for 4 guys

It is suppose to be 92 next year and then 98+ the year after when McDs new deal kicks in.
Hyman and Nuge will still be around at 5M per. So 60M tied up in 6 core players.

Shouldn't be too hard to build supporting cast around this core

 

[Oilslick941611]

Stecher was injured? Lol

He had a cyst on his on ankle and had surgery for it during the playoffs

 

[Fishy McScales]

I just think the Oilers were so bad for so long without even trying to compete, which I am not a fan of. I think a team should always compete every night no matter what management wants. Ya, I def could see that happening.

Also, the whole Perlini waiver mess wasn't a good look either. His mom tweeting about it was why he wasn't resigned, but who knows for sure. There is a reason a lot of fans are cheering for them to lose.

Jealousy?

 

[Half Clapper]

Jealousy?

How can you be jealous of a team that hasn't won anything in almost 35 years?

 

[GOilers88]

Love watching rando's put out some random timeline as a window like there's a special formula for it.

The window is as long as McDavid is playing hockey. Everything else is just silly noise.

 

[LTIR]

So I guess going to the finals the one time was enough for Draisaitl. Because that cap hit and whatever Bouchard will get as well basically means that roster is going to struggle for quality over quantity.

The hope is that having McDraiBouchard will help attract quality players to Edmonton at discount prices ala Henrique, Skinner, Arvidsson.

McDavid does some recruiting for Oilers behind the scenes.. see Hyman, campbell(sadly) , Brown etc