Yesterday may have seemed like a formality for the Edmonton Oilers, but don’t let the story get lost. Connor McDavid signing his eight-year contract extension was a massive moment for the organization and sets the club up for the next nine seasons. His $12.5 million AAV could be considered a massive win for the Oilers, and the term of eight seasons (plus his final ELC season) certainly is a win.
Peter Chiarelli did extremely well in this deal, and in closing it yesterday he pushed the club over one of the major hurdles still facing Edmonton this summer. The Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl contract situations are the buffer between right now and the Oilers making a play in free agency.
With McDavid signed, we’re halfway to financial freedom for the Edmonton Oilers. Oh, and another item has successfully been crossed off our list.
Summer Breeze:
1.) Sign Connor McDavid: Eight years at $12.5 million per. A win for both McDavid and the Oilers.
2.) Sign Leon Draisaitl: This negotiation sounds a lot more difficult than the McDavid negotiation. Some reports have Leon asking for upwards of $10 million a season, but that’s an outrageous ask. John Shannon of Sportsnet hinted at five years for Leon at around $7.5 million on SN’s free agency coverage. I do think a contract gets done between the sides. A bridge deal is looking far more likely right now.
3.) Address second-pairing RHD: The Oilers have not addressed the hole so far this summer. A guy like Cody Franson could fill this spot as a free agent, but it’s looking more and more like the Oilers will have Matt Benning in this spot to open the season.
4.) Add a 3rd line center or top six RW: Peter Chiarelli said last Saturday that Ryan Strome told him he is more comfortable at center than wing. Expect Strome to open as the third-line center and play where Leon isn’t next year. Looks like the bet here is Ryan Strome as the 3C.
5.) Figure out the Mark Fayne/Benoit Pouliot situations: Surprisingly, Benoit Pouliot was bought out last week. Mark Fayne is likely to play out the final season of his contract in the organization with the buyout window now over. He has an outside chance of making this team if no additions happen between now and October 4th.
6.) Short-term replacement for Andrej Sekera: Kris Russell it is.
7.) Add depth: Mitch Callahan, Ty Rattie, Brad Malone and Ryan Stanton were all added to give the Oilers depth that can be recalled from the farm. Rattie may have the most potential, but Callahan is a sleeper to make the team as the 14th forward in October.
A Few Words On Leon:
The last big item for Peter Chiarelli to handle is the Leon Draisaitl negotiation. There’s a lot of panic among Oiler fans but I think that is a little premature. It’s only July 6th and there is plenty of time to sign the big German before training camp in mid-September.
Jason Gregor pointed this out yesterday over at OilersNation and I thought it was a very good item to bring up today. Nikita Kucherov and Johnny Gaudreau didn’t sign their contracts until October of last year and both had strong seasons. Sean Monahan didn’t sign until August while Jacob Trouba was out until November.
I’m onside with Jason when he says he’d be stunned if Draisaitl didn’t have a new deal by October 4th, but these negotiations can take time and we shouldn’t be surprised if the timeline extends into the fall.
I’d urge patience here, because these things do in fact take time. Draisaitl is a very good young player coming off a great season and an even better playoff. This negotiation could be drawn out, but in the end I suspect Leon and the Oilers come to terms on a new contract. I’ll say five-years at $7.5 million per and that it gets announced in late July.
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