Winners and losers of Leon Draisaitl’s $112 million contract

Greg Wyshynski, ESPNSep 3, 2024, 03:35 PM ET

CloseGreg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.

Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl has signed an eight-year contract extension worth $112 million. Its $14 million average annual value should give Draisaitl the highest individual salary cap hit in NHL history when the contract kicks in for the 2025-26 season.

As always, there are ripples and repercussions with any blockbuster contract. Who won big? Who came up short? Here’s how the Draisaitl deal impacts the NHL.

Winner: Edmonton Oilers

The rest of the hockey world has been counting down the days until Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl or both would follow in the skate shavings of Wayne Gretzky as the next megastars to leave Edmonton for “the big market.”

Instead, Oilers fans are lapping up those tears of disappointment as they watch Draisaitl commit to the team through 2033 — with the expectation that a McDavid extension is in the cards as well.

Obviously, it’s not just about the money, because Leon could find more of it on the open market. So the Oilers can take a measure of pride that the organization itself compelled Draisaitl to forego free agency. That speaks to everything from the ownership to the facilities to the people working on and off the ice. But more than anything, it speaks to the fact that Draisaitl believes he can compete for a Stanley Cup for several seasons in Edmonton. That’s a heck of an endorsement.

Word around Edmonton during the playoffs was that $14 million AAV was exactly where they expected a Draisaitl extension would and should land. It sets them up for McDavid’s next deal and a blockbuster contract for top offensive defenseman Evan Bouchard before next summer. That’s the holy trinity of hockey talent you need to win a Cup — two great centers and a No. 1 defenseman — and Edmonton’s version of it is almost unparalleled.

Welp, there goes that theory. There had been scuttlebutt about mutual admiration between Draisaitl and the Boston Bruins….

Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/insider/story/_/id/41110321/nhl-leon-draisaitl-contract-edmonton-oilers-eight-years-112-million

Author : Greg Wyshynski

Publish date : 2024-09-03 20:35:23

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