Next summer marks the expiration of Leon Draisaitl’s contract, while the summer after that marks the expiration of Connor McDavid’s.
In Edmonton hockey talk, there are two main questions: Can the Edmonton Oilers keep them? And can they sign Stanley Cup-friendly contracts to keep them?
The secret to these talks, in my opinion, is for there to be no opposition; rather, there should be a mutual realization of the profound and significant desire for the Stanley Cup, with each player being treated equitably considering their position on the team.
As per the NHL and NHL players’ association’s collective bargaining agreement, the two players will be free if they do not sign in Edmonton to go to any other NHL city at a maximum term of seven years and a maximum payment of 20 per cent of the salary cap.
I’ll suggest right now that if money is the top priority for either player, they will be able to get that 20 per cent bid from another team. It’s possible that Edmonton itself also would be able to give each player that 20 per cent contract on an eight-year term, though paying 40 per cent of the cap to any two players would likely doom any team’s Stanley Cup chances.
My point?
Edmonton has no obvious hammer in these contract negotiations. Draisaitl and McDavid are free to do what they will. After 11 seasons in Edmonton, the two players will be the full masters of their own destinies, the captains of their own ships.
It’s their negotiated right and I can see no reason why anyone should begrudge them that right, agreed?
The lure of Stanley Cup-friendly contracts
The conundrum for the Oilers is that if they pay Draisaitl and McDavid that full 20 per cent — as both players arguably merit at this point in their careers — the Oilers won’t be able to retain other top players in coming years, young players who need new deals like Evan Bouchard, Philip Broberg, Stuart Skinner, and Dylan Holloway, not to mention vets like Viktor Arvidsson, Jeff Skinner, and Brett Kulak, should those players be deemed as essential parts of Edmonton’s Stanley Cup aspirations.
