It's weird to have to explain this, but what HFOil "hopes for" is never, ever, ever relevant to the actual workings of a professional sports team.
Fair enough. it wasnt just HfOil but media as well. There were certainly questions raised and it was declared an overpayment right away ala Nurse. Lucic's deal with Oilers was considered a 'hit'.
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This is No. 1 center money. Actually, it’s more than that: There are only five centers who will make more against the cap than Draisaitl next season: Jonathan Toews ($13.8 million, 29 years old), Anze Kopitar ($13 million, 29), Evgeni Malkin ($9.5 million, 31), Sidney Crosby ($8.7 million, 31) and Steven Stamkos ($8.5 million, 27).
Together, this group has 11 Stanley Cups, four Conn Smythe trophies and three Hart trophies."
"
"Leon Draisaitl, 21, got
both in his eight-year, $68-million deal with the Edmonton Oilers announced on Tuesday, giving him an $8.5 million cap hit through the 2024-25 season. It’s another classic overpayment from general manager Peter Chiarelli, who you might know from such hits as the David Krejci extension in Boston and the Milan Lucic deal with the Oilers.
The question this time is whether overpayment is justified.
This is the fourth-highest second contract of the NHL salary cap era, a list populated by Connor McDavid, Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. In three of those cases, they signed deals after having won the Hart Trophy.
OK, let’s bring this into a tighter focus on Draisaitl: It’s an overpayment if you judge the deal on accepted dogma and Draisaitl’s current trajectory as a player; it’s completely reasonable if Draisaitl ends up being the Malkin to Connor McDavid’s Crosby in a burgeoning Oilers Dynasty."
