Player Discussion Leon Draisaitl's next contract

[McTonyBrar]

This is absolutely ridiculous. Nobody runs a business like that


Not signed by Dec 1, time to look at other options

Dude are you even an Oilers fan? Time to look at other options? The Oilers are McDavid and Leon so just stop.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

Dude are you even an Oilers fan? Time to look at other options? The Oilers are McDavid and Leon so just stop.

So let me get this straight. You think if Drais camp starts off by saying “we want 16x8” the Oilers should just agree and give it to him?

 

[jukon]

So let me get this straight. You think if Drais camp starts off by saying “we want 16x8” the Oilers should just agree and give it to him?

You probably say 'are you sure?' first, but yeah.

 

[Yuke]

So let me get this straight. You think if Drais camp starts off by saying “we want 16x8” the Oilers should just agree and give it to him?

You probably say 'are you sure?' first, but yeah.

And we wonder why this country is broke.

 

[McTonyBrar]

So let me get this straight. You think if Drais camp starts off by saying “we want 16x8” the Oilers should just agree and give it to him?

No. Leon already said he wants to take a discount for the team. So no we aren't offering him that. What I'm saying is if the decision is between 13 mill and 13.5, just give him the 13.5.

That's the example. Why are we caring this much about the salary for Leon? This is the 2nd best player in the league.

I think a lot of us are taking Escott's tweet very negatively because we are scared (im scared as hell). But, end of the day, its a negotiation. It's going to get done. I think we should stop worrying

 

[Reasonable Oil Fan]

No. Leon already said he wants to take a discount for the team. So no we aren't offering him that. What I'm saying is if the decision is between 13 mill and 13.5, just give him the 13.5.

That's the example. Why are we caring this much about the salary for Leon? This is the 2nd best player in the league.

I think a lot of us are taking Escott's tweet very negatively because we are scared (im scared as hell). But, end of the day, its a negotiation. It's going to get done. I think we should stop worrying

I've said it too many times lately, but 2 years from now, Nurse, Bouchard, Draisaitl and McDavid will be using 50M of our cap space and there wont be any problems with that

 

[McShogun99]

Anythinjg up to 14 million is fair value for Draisaitl. If he wants 16 it messes up the window to win a cup but you pay that extra money as a Mcdavid tax to get him to sign next year. I'd rather have a slightly overpaid Draisaitl on the team if it means Mcdavid is an Oiler for life. Even if it slightly hurts our cup chances.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

No. Leon already said he wants to take a discount for the team. So no we aren't offering him that. What I'm saying is if the decision is between 13 mill and 13.5, just give him the 13.5.

That's the example. Why are we caring this much about the salary for Leon? This is the 2nd best player in the league.

I think a lot of us are taking Escott's tweet very negatively because we are scared (im scared as hell). But, end of the day, its a negotiation. It's going to get done. I think we should stop worrying

Oh then I agree.

 

[Heavy Dee]

There is 0% chance the Oilers are disrespecting and lowballing Leon Draisaitl.

Agree. Could be Leon's way of a graceful exit. Yes it's a conspiracy theory.

No. Leon already said he wants to take a discount for the team. So no we aren't offering him that. What I'm saying is if the decision is between 13 mill and 13.5, just give him the 13.5.

That's the example. Why are we caring this much about the salary for Leon? This is the 2nd best player in the league.

I think a lot of us are taking Escott's tweet very negatively because we are scared (im scared as hell). But, end of the day, its a negotiation. It's going to get done. I think we should stop worrying

Where did Leon say he was taking a discount?

 

[McTonyBrar]

Agree. Could be Leon's way of a graceful exit. Yes it's a conspiracy theory.


Where did Leon say he was taking a discount?

That’s what all reporters were saying when negotiations began. Friedman Seravalli etc

 

[Heavy Dee]

That’s what all reporters were saying when negotiations began. Friedman Seravalli etc

Pretty sure he feels like he took a discount for the last 7 years.

 

[Reasonable Oil Fan]

That’s what all reporters were saying when negotiations began. Friedman Seravalli etc

one of those two have kinda shown that they have no clue through all of this

Seravalli has gone from

Draisaitl will remain an Oiler for a long time.
to
Where else are you going to go to play with Connor McDavid? He’s not going anywhere.
to
the end number may end up surprising people a little bit in terms of how reasonable it ends up being
to
I think these two sides are a little further apart than I envisioned

basically admitting hes been simply guessing

 

[Oilslick941611]

Give him whatever he wants. No negotiation. McDavid and Draisaitl are the Oilers. Losing them is not an option.

It’s interesting.

I have a thought in the back of my mind that Drai will be traded this season, and I’m okay with that. He is a phenomenal player. However, when we need him most he’s been hurt, playing through it and giving it his all no doubt, but hurt when it counts, which ultimately lets us down. I’m not on team trade Drai, but i would be okay with moving on from him for the right package that can help our needs. I dont think there is a way to win a Drai and end up a better team in the short term, but i wont be super pissed off and all doom like most would be. I can see the scenario happening this season. Ideally we sign him though, that would be my preference though.

 

[Heavy Dee]

It’s interesting.

I have a thought in the back of my mind that Drai will be traded this season, and I’m okay with that. He is a phenomenal player. However, when we need him most he’s been hurt, playing through it and giving it his all no doubt, but hurt when it counts, which ultimately lets us down. I’m not on team trade Drai, but i would be okay with moving on from him for the right package that can help our needs. I dont think there is a way to win a Drai and end up a better team in the short term, but i wont be super pissed off and all doom like most would be. I can see the scenario happening this season. Ideally we sign him though, that would be my preference though.

Agree with this. His 5v5 scoring has been mediocre at best. The fear is how his departure affects McDavid re-signing

 

[Reasonable Oil Fan]

Agree with this. His 5v5 scoring has been mediocre at best. The fear is how his departure affects McDavid re-signing

Lets not talk like this please ha ha
it'll get done, might be just a little more pricy than many had hoped.

 

[Oilslick941611]

Agree with this. His 5v5 scoring has been mediocre at best. The fear is how his departure affects McDavid re-signing

If we are still a winning team, Connor likely re-signs. If we blow the Drai trade/contract and have no depth or look to be falling in the standings Connor leaves. Drai could be an indicator or not, who knows, maybe their minds are already made up? I certainly can’t blame them if they want to leave. I hope they dont. It would definitely be the beginning of another decade of darkness, unless we overhaul the scouting the department. I dont trust them with a bunch of draft picks that would likely be the haul of a Drai trade.


Every contender deals with this though.

 

[MoontoScott]

Travis Yost: NHL players preparing for labour uncertainty with lockout-protected contracts | TSN

Unlike some other North American sports leagues, the NHL’s rebound from the “COVID years” has been materially slower from a revenue perspective. Because of this, players are taking steps to prevent from any potential future labour uncertainty. Travis Yost has more.

www.tsn.ca

This is a very interesting article about the positioning for both sides in the anticipated labour war 2 years from now.

I think it probably pertains more to short term contracts than the anticipated 8 year deal for Drai but it might be a sticking point in current negotiations. Increasingly, agents want bonus laden contracts that are buyout proof.

 

[OilerTyler]

Agree with this. His 5v5 scoring has been mediocre at best. The fear is how his departure affects McDavid re-signing

When Draisaitl isn't stacked with McDavid and Hyman he is generally playing with bottom six forwards. Worse players than any other star player in the league has to play with. He played 1256:43 minutes at 5v5 this year and these were his line mates by minutes:

McDavid - 466:25
Hyman - 419:58
Foegele - 387:31
Kane - 369:48
McLeod - 186:12
Brown - 155:27
Nugent-Hopkins - 154:54
Perry - 104:43
Janmark - 76:52
Henrique - 63:34
Holloway - 45:34

So he spent 37% of his time with McDavid and 33% of it with Hyman but those were usually at the same time. That means he spent 60%+ of his minutes with the rest of the players on that list. Not really an inspiring group considering Kane was injured.

I think we're gonna see his 5v5 production increase this year with Skinner, Arvidsson and a full year of Henrique (and even a healthier Kane).

 

[Duke74]

It’s interesting.

I have a thought in the back of my mind that Drai will be traded this season, and I’m okay with that. He is a phenomenal player. However, when we need him most he’s been hurt, playing through it and giving it his all no doubt, but hurt when it counts, which ultimately lets us down. I’m not on team trade Drai, but i would be okay with moving on from him for the right package that can help our needs. I dont think there is a way to win a Drai and end up a better team in the short term, but i wont be super pissed off and all doom like most would be. I can see the scenario happening this season. Ideally we sign him though, that would be my preference though.

It's a bit of a strange situation because when he's healthy in the playoffs, he's an absolute beast. However, he's been injured at some point in each of the last three playoff years, which has diminished his effectiveness. Is injury a concern going forward? As he ages, the injuries will only increase in frequency. It's definitely something to take into account when negotiating his contract.

When Draisaitl isn't stacked with McDavid and Hyman he is generally playing with bottom six forwards. Worse players than any other star player in the league has to play with. He played 1256:43 minutes at 5v5 this year and these were his line mates by minutes:

McDavid - 466:25
Hyman - 419:58
Foegele - 387:31
Kane - 369:48
McLeod - 186:12
Brown - 155:27
Nugent-Hopkins - 154:54
Perry - 104:43
Janmark - 76:52
Henrique - 63:34
Holloway - 45:34

So he spent 37% of his time with McDavid and 33% of it with Hyman but those were usually at the same time. That means he spent 60%+ of his minutes with the rest of the players on that list. Not really an inspiring group considering Kane was injured.

I think we're gonna see his 5v5 production increase this year with Skinner, Arvidsson and a full year of Henrique (and even a healthier Kane).

The quality of linemates definitely explains his relatively weak 5v5 numbers away from McDavid. However, if he's asking for $14 million, he should be able to make superstars out of the McLeods and Fogeles of the world. That's more than Matthews and MacKinnon, who, IMO, are better players and signed their contracts at younger ages. Add in the injury concern mentioned above and I think $12-12.5 is more reasonable.

 

[Oilslick941611]

It's a bit of a strange situation because when he's healthy in the playoffs, he's an absolute beast. However, he's been injured at some point in each of the last three playoff years, which has diminished his effectiveness. Is injury a concern going forward? As he ages, the injuries will only increase in frequency. It's definitely something to take into account when negotiating his contract.

it’s certainly something that’s being overlooked by many people here for sure.

 

[On The Prowl]

Keep Drai and McDavid no matter what. I dont want to think of an Oilers team without them.

 

[OilerTyler]

The quality of linemates definitely explains his relatively weak 5v5 numbers away from McDavid. However, if he's asking for $14 million, he should be able to make superstars out of the McLeods and Fogeles of the world. That's more than Matthews and MacKinnon, who, IMO, are better players and signed their contracts at younger ages. Add in the injury concern mentioned above and I think $12-12.5 is more reasonable.

The Avalanche were lucky enough to sign MacKinnon during a time when the cap wasn't really increasing. When Draisaitl's contract kicks in the cap will probably be 10% higher than it was when MacKinnon signed. Draisaitl's new cap hit will reflect that. It sucks but when the next set of stars are up for negotiations they'll be getting $15 million plus while Drai is still making $13.5 or whatever. Matthews is a good example. He only signed a four year deal because he knows he'll get $15-16 million in four years.

At the end of the day we can't really let Draisaitl walk over one or two million dollars. Not only would losing Drai be a massive hit, you'd basically be guaranteeing McDavid leaves as well. It sucks, but he has all the leverage. I'm pretty confident whatever deal we give him will age well with the cap climbing anyway.

 

[brentashton]

Toronto’s fabulous Four are contracted at 40 mil in aggregate. Leon, Connor and Darnell easily will be 40 mil at the end of next season. Hmmm. I realize the cap is increasing at greater rate than when TML made their deals but still something to think about.

 

[Wreckus]

Just saw the escott tweet via Apple News.

My take, The f***ing agent is playing games with the Oilers. Draisaitl may intend to take a tad lower AAV amount, but sure the hell the agent doesn’t want that it means less money for the asshole.

Agent wants him to go to free agency to get a much larger amount and the agent gets a bigger profit.

Goes two ways, Draisaitl signs or he doesn’t and he’s gonzo after the season.

At this point, think he’s gone because of his agent wanting a bigger pie of the money.

 

[Fourier]

It’s interesting.

I have a thought in the back of my mind that Drai will be traded this season, and I’m okay with that. He is a phenomenal player. However, when we need him most he’s been hurt, playing through it and giving it his all no doubt, but hurt when it counts, which ultimately lets us down. I’m not on team trade Drai, but i would be okay with moving on from him for the right package that can help our needs. I dont think there is a way to win a Drai and end up a better team in the short term, but i wont be super pissed off and all doom like most would be. I can see the scenario happening this season. Ideally we sign him though, that would be my preference though.

The injuries he had are not repeatable. Broken ribs and a broken finger could literally happen to any player at any time. The high ankle sprain was also something that is not a characteristic of the player.

If you trade him the chances that you loose the trade and are very high. It's just not a great move.