Player Discussion Leon Draisaitl's next contract

[Slats432]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1818666293501084091

Not sure why Rishaug felt compelled to tweet this but he did

Because there are tons of people speculating it is a fait accompli, and people are asking for information. He went out and got the real information and reported it. Not a surprise.

 

[AlanHUK]

Another stat I saw is most star players signing their 3rd contracts are taking 15% of the cap which would put Drai at 13.2 million. This is full value. The 14 million is like Matthews taking 15.9 % of the cap aka the highest end.

13.5 is no discount. Does Drai deserve more than McKinnon who just signed last year at 12.6 and is 3 years younger than him? I would argue this is his max value.

When Mackinnon signed he hadn't broke 100 points nor scored 50 goals.

Leon has 5 100 points seasons, 3 50 goals seasons, an art ross and a hart.

They're not comparables at the point the contracts are being signed.

 

[MessierII]

AM is 4 years younger and only signed for 4 yrs so his AAV is higher naturally. If AM signed for 7-8 years he would be making a million + less

Austin matthews is 26 Leon is 28. You got some math wrong somewhere.

 

[topseed]

Give Drai 12.75 and McDavid whatever he wants. I can live with 13 for Drai, but think he isn't worth it. For 2-3 more seasons probably yes, but not the following seasons. McDavid deserves whatever he asks.

 

[McJadeddog]

McDavid getting his market value isn't being "obsessed with money", he would do what anybody in their career would do which is maximizing career earnings. This is his job and, yes, I know there's a difference between McDavid's generational wealth and some regular person but it's the same general principle. McDavid also generates a shit ton more revenue for his business than a regular person does so it's all relative.

Also, the reality is that McDavid taking something like 8 years $15m IS a sizeable discount. He can make up to possibly $20m/yr if he really wanted to be greedy depending on how high the cap rises when his next contract kicks in so any realistic deal he signs is a sizeable discount.
It's up to management to navigate the cap situation, not the players.
You're insinuating that McDavid should take Hyman/RNH money for the next 3 years, that's absurd.

To say that a regular person and McDavid aren't the same financially is underselling it pretty dramatically. If McDavid feels his job is to maximize his earnings, then great, but lets not pretend that you can have that opinion and still say that winning is your #1 priority in a hard cap league. Those two things are very much mutually exclusive.

McDavid can't be compared against normal players, he needs to be compared to generational players, that will be judged on championships and career records. Crosby took a pretty team friendly deal (so friendly that it ended up being illegal in the new CBA). The GOAT of the NFL consistently took team friendly deals. Brady signed the following contracts in the second half of his career (where McDavid is right now):

- 5th highest paid in 2010 on new contract
- 5th highest paid in 2013 on new contract
- 12th highest in 2016 on new contract
- 14th highest in 2019 on new contract
- 16th highest in 2020 on new contract

Even if you want to discount the last couple of contracts, as he was near the end in Tampa, and no longer the best QB in the league, just look at the earlier contracts. He was the 5th-12th highest paid player in the league. For the greatest player to ever play in the sport, in the most important position in all of team sports. That would have McDavid between $10.9 M (the 12th highest in NHL currently) and $11.6 M (5th highest currently).

McDavid taking a pretty steep discount isn't exactly unprecedented in sports. He isn't the same as 99% of the league, who most definitely should chase money, as they don't have generational, wealth already. But the point is that McDavid already has more money than he could ever realistically spend, and if he wants to win championships, it takes sacrifice. Is that fair to him? No, not really, but its reality given his status in the sport, operating in a hard cap league.

 

[McJadeddog]

You have to think that there are handshake deals that occur. I certainly think that Duncan Keith's player development role was certainly predicated on him retiring so the Oilers could save on the cap.

(Did we hear of one thing Keith did in 2022-23 to earn his Player Development role salary? He isn't on the page now. Was he ever? Did they fire him? Did he even run 1 skill session? Maybe he works for the Condors? Not on their site)

So not allowed, but not always pursued.

Yeah I think its pretty ridiculous to think that these deals don't happen on the regular. They would be impossible for the NHL to police. If Katz went to McDavid and said "take X million less in this next contract and I will make it up to you after retirement in X way", there is literally no way for the NHL to prevent this. Yeah, it's against the rules, but impossible to enforce.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1818666293501084091

Not sure why Rishaug felt compelled to tweet this but he did

 

[ZJuice]

He's saying "DARN" like the Hitchcock gif

 

[Slats432]

The Rishaug news isn't a big deal.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

The Rishaug news isn't a big deal.

No one said it is. Oiler fans just want it officially inked.

 

[Slats432]

No one said it is. Oiler fans just want it officially inked.

The gif presents otherwise.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

The gif presents otherwise.

It’s humour because we have all been waiting for the contract to get signed.

 

[Soundwave]

Jackson said he wants to sit down with Connor and Leon both and figure out a salary structure that will presumably allow them to win together here, so it sort of makes sense to wait until after the wedding, honeymoon.

 

[Paralyzer]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1818666293501084091

Not sure why Rishaug felt compelled to tweet this but he did

Rishaug wants to be the first to say "I reported nothing is happening, so I got a 50/50 shot of being still relevant again".

 

[McJadeddog]

Jackson said he wants to sit down with Connor and Leon both and figure out a salary structure that will presumably allow them to win together here, so it sort of makes sense to wait until after the wedding, honeymoon.

I hadn't actually heard that before, so thanks for posting. That approach by JJ makes a lot of sense, and its good to hear they are approaching it as one negotiation, because that is really the only way to do it.

 

[nerevarine]

Lmao why are people so mad at rishaug for reporting what he heard which is likely true, especially in light of all these false claims that draisaitl signing was close or done.

 

[CanadasTeam99]

Because there are tons of people speculating it is a fait accompli, and people are asking for information. He went out and got the real information and reported it. Not a surprise.

Rishaug always tweets the worst. Injuries in practise, etc. Remember this doofus was crying for weeks about Barrie being moved out

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

To say that a regular person and McDavid aren't the same financially is underselling it pretty dramatically. If McDavid feels his job is to maximize his earnings, then great, but lets not pretend that you can have that opinion and still say that winning is your #1 priority in a hard cap league. Those two things are very much mutually exclusive.

McDavid can't be compared against normal players, he needs to be compared to generational players, that will be judged on championships and career records. Crosby took a pretty team friendly deal (so friendly that it ended up being illegal in the new CBA). The GOAT of the NFL consistently took team friendly deals. Brady signed the following contracts in the second half of his career (where McDavid is right now):

- 5th highest paid in 2010 on new contract
- 5th highest paid in 2013 on new contract
- 12th highest in 2016 on new contract
- 14th highest in 2019 on new contract
- 16th highest in 2020 on new contract

Even if you want to discount the last couple of contracts, as he was near the end in Tampa, and no longer the best QB in the league, just look at the earlier contracts. He was the 5th-12th highest paid player in the league. For the greatest player to ever play in the sport, in the most important position in all of team sports. That would have McDavid between $10.9 M (the 12th highest in NHL currently) and $11.6 M (5th highest currently).

McDavid taking a pretty steep discount isn't exactly unprecedented in sports. He isn't the same as 99% of the league, who most definitely should chase money, as they don't have generational, wealth already. But the point is that McDavid already has more money than he could ever realistically spend, and if he wants to win championships, it takes sacrifice. Is that fair to him? No, not really, but its reality given his status in the sport, operating in a hard cap league.

Tom Brady is not a viable comparison for anyone. His endorsement money dwarfs likely anyone and certainly was a factor in accepting smaller contracts. His 'benevolence' is the direct result of his unique ability to maximize revenue through ancillary means.

https://www.thestreet.com/personalities/tom-brady-net-worth-14595966#:~:text=Tom%20Brady's%20Endorsements,in%202022%2C%20according%20to%20Forbes.

"Celebrity net worth websites peg Brady’s net worth between $300 and $450 million, with most of that money coming from endorsements.

Upon Brady’s retirement announcement in February 2023, however, Forbes listed Brady’s net worth at $530 million: Out of that number, $200 million came from sponsorships and $333 million from on-field earnings, which translated to an average annual salary of $14.4 million."

Your premise is noble and ideal. But hard reality is no player with limited earning years and putting their lifetime of training, injury/risk of injury, and best player is going to seriously undercut their own worth or the workforce that follows his market setting with owners. Add that there's been a past history of NHL owners and a corrupt players association to collude in keeping players salaries down and there's not reason to expect McDavid to cut significantly into what's he's worth to fill hockey rinks, drive team success on and off ice, and inflate the team value into the billions. All of he's done and is doing.

Besides which as the leadership core have pointed out about the Nurse contract, don't point the arrows at the player but rather at management who put the deal on the table.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

Rishaug wants to be the first to say "I reported nothing is happening, so I got a 50/50 shot of being still relevant again".

He's actually a credible reporter in his work with TSN who chases information directly. Helpful to cut through the misinformation and wild speculation that gets belched up primarily by radio peeps and/or social media randos.

There's overwhelming common sense to believe Draisaitl will re-sign with Edmonton (Cup Final bridesmaid; team ability to offer most years and won't be overbid by anyone; history of investing to keep its star players well paid and happy via all team resources available off-ice).

 

[McJadeddog]

Tom Brady is not a viable comparison for anyone. His endorsement money dwarfs likely anyone and certainly was a factor in accepting smaller contracts. His 'benevolence' is the direct result of his unique ability to maximize revenue through ancillary means.

https://www.thestreet.com/personalities/tom-brady-net-worth-14595966#:~:text=Tom%20Brady's%20Endorsements,in%202022%2C%20according%20to%20Forbes.

"Celebrity net worth websites peg Brady’s net worth between $300 and $450 million, with most of that money coming from endorsements.

Upon Brady’s retirement announcement in February 2023, however, Forbes listed Brady’s net worth at $530 million: Out of that number, $200 million came from sponsorships and $333 million from on-field earnings, which translated to an average annual salary of $14.4 million."

Your premise is noble and ideal. But hard reality is no player with limited earning years and putting their lifetime of training, injury/risk of injury, and best player is going to seriously undercut their own worth or the workforce that follows his market setting with owners. Add that there's been a past history of NHL owners and a corrupt players association to collude in keeping players salaries down and there's not reason to expect McDavid to cut significantly into what's he's worth to fill hockey rinks, drive team success on and off ice, and inflate the team value into the billions. All of he's done and is doing.

Besides which as the leadership core have pointed out about the Nurse contract, don't point the arrows at the player but rather at management who put the deal on the table.

I don't see that much difference between retiring with $500 M vs retiring with $250 M personally. But again, I'm likely not the norm in this.

I've said my piece on this, and I'm sure people are tired of my continued harping on the subject, lol. So I'll leave it at that.

 

[FlameChampion]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1818666293501084091

Not sure why Rishaug felt compelled to tweet this but he did

I doubt theres even a negotiation here. They are basically giving Leon a blank cheque and its upto him how much he wants to leave on the table to be competitive.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

I don't see that much difference between retiring with $500 M vs retiring with $250 M personally. But again, I'm likely not the norm in this.

I've said my piece on this, and I'm sure people are tired of my continued harping on the subject, lol. So I'll leave it at that.

I'm just pointing out Brady's reality is quite unique with ability to pad out massive money from endorsements. Reality is he could likely feed that more lucrative revenue stream by taking a pay cut to ensure an on-field competitive team. He's in a different stratosphere with his league revenue and his status within it to drive personal wealth.

I don't disagree with your personal philosophy. But I certainly don't expect McDavid (or Draisaitl) to short himself on his value and worth after driving the team's wealth and the league's owners as well.

 

[Davo Ikinzom]

Because there are tons of people speculating it is a fait accompli, and people are asking for information. He went out and got the real information and reported it. Not a surprise.

We should thank him for his service, jumping right into the trenches and fighting to bring us the real information.

 

[Broberg Speed]

Rishaug always tweets the worst. Injuries in practise, etc. Remember this doofus was crying for weeks about Barrie being moved out

All the insider dicks have a specific role to fulfill, little deeds to accomplish, they get leaked tidbits of information from various sources now and then, as long as they toe the line of their sponsor and play the game. The game is to ensnare the attention of the fan. That's what makes them dicks.

Posters are begging for news and Rishaug just dropped some. It wasn't the news you wanted to hear. That's Rishaug's burden. He's remunerated.

I never wanted Nurse to make 9.25M for 8 years but someone on this board was insistent on it well before Darnell received that albatros. The performance was noteworthy.

hf gang gang

 

[Slats432]

Rishaug wants to be the first to say "I reported nothing is happening, so I got a 50/50 shot of being still relevant again".

Rishaug is the local TSN guy with a great podcast. Not sure if he has trouble with relevance.

We should thank him for his service, jumping right into the trenches and fighting to bring us the real information.

Or I suppose letting the speculation run forever is a choice too.