Oilers insider says Draisaitl may not be open to long term contract in Edmonton
Photo credit: The Hockey News
Reports surfaced earlier this week that the Edmonton Oilers have begun contract extension talks with Leon Draisaitl, but not Mark Spector is reporting it may not be long term.
»We believe Draisaitl signs a four-year deal, leaving room for one more contract at age 32 — when the cap soars even higher. And he should be the highest paid player in the NHL for a year — until McDavid signs.»
- Mark Spector
- Mark Spector
Draisaitl may not be looking to sign an eight year contract as has become expected of NHL stars. Like Auston Matthews, Draisaitl would be smart to sign a shorter term deal at a high salary, and look to cash in on another long term contract in a few years time. Based on this report, Draisaitl would sign for 4 years for near $14M.
Spector still says Draisaitl staying in Edmonton is practically a guarantee, just like Frank Seravalli reported on OilersNow last week. Seravalli also speculated that Draisaitl would reach at least $14M in salary, but Stauffer suggested that Draisaitl is in fact looking for an eight year deal.
When a player of Draisaitl's caliber is nearing free agency, rumours of plenty of teams being interested will pop up - and that's certainly been the case with Leon. The Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, and Los Angeles Kings to name a few have been linked to being strongly interested in Draisaitl. It'll be best for the Oilers organization to get his contract done early this offseason, and not let it hang over the beginning of next year at all.
Multiple insiders have also said that Draisaitl's signing with Edmonton will be a harbinger of McDavid's signing as well - when either happens, it'll be a joy to the city of Edmonton.
Source: Mark Spector
| POLL | ||
JUIN 17|657 ANSWERS Oilers insider says Draisaitl may not be open to long term contract in Edmonton Do you think Leon Draisaitl will be an Oiler for his whole career? | ||
| Yes, he's a lifelong Oiler | 343 | 52.2 % |
| No, he will move on at some point | 287 | 43.7 % |
| See Results | 27 | 4.1 % |
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