Also judging comments from Leon Draisaitl's agent and president Jeff Jackson, signing the contract extension now makes sense. Draisaitl's agent said earlier this offseason that he wants a deal done by August, and Jeff Jackson said he'd like a new GM hired to negotiate the extension. Now that Stan Bowman has been hired as the GM, the Oilers will have to direct full effort into finalizing Draisaitl's contract.
Not only are all the requirements met for the team to sign the Draisaitl contract, but the Oilers may want to move quickly here. The team received a lot of negative attention yesterday for hiring Stan Bowman with his history in the Blackhawks scandal. Announcing a Draisaitl extension would be a sure fire way to end the headlines about Bowman.
As of right now, the details of the Draisaitl contract are totally unknown. There have been reports he'll be signing a long-term deal, a short-term deal like Matthews, as high as $14M or more, and reports of him taking a discount to keep the team together. Right now, it seems most plausible that Draisaitl will sign a short-term contract at his full value - he's already been playing at a discount of $8.5M the last 8 years.
Regardless of the contract details, every Oilers fan will be ecstatic to see Draisaitl locked up to compete for more Stanley Cups in Edmonton. This team seems primed to win next season, with an improved roster from last year and the motivation of a tough loss in Game 7. With the core players being re-signed, the Oilers will surely be back in the Cup Final at least.
Source: Bob Stauffer
Draisaitl contract expected soon
POLL | ||
25 JUILLET | 548 ANSWERS Oilers insider has major update on Leon Draisaitl contract talks Do you think Draisaitl will sign long term or short term in Edmonton? | ||
Long term | 243 | 44.3 % |
Short term | 222 | 40.5 % |
He's leaving Edmonton | 64 | 11.7 % |
See Results | 19 | 3.5 % |
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