Connor Mcdavid, the reigning MVP of the National Hockey League, signed a long-term NHL contract with the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. McDavid, who was already signed through the 2017/18 season, agreed to an eight-year contract extension with the Oilers.
The entire contract is worth $100,000,000 according to Spotrac's page for McDavid. The captain of the Oilers still has one season remaining on his entry contract with a cap hit of $925,000 coming up for the 2017/18 season. After that McDavid will make $12.5M per season from the start of the 2018/19 season to the end of the 2025/26 season.
McDavid won the MVP Award
McDavid is considered a generational talent and that he won the NHL's MVP award at the age of 20 clearly attests to his abilities. In signing McDavid long term, the Oilers look as though they will be a contender for many seasons to come. Currently, they are considered the second favorites to win the 2018 Stanley Cup with bet365 sportsbook, behind only the Pittsburgh Penguins (source: bet365).
Edmonton had another outstanding young player last season in German-national Leon Draisaitl. He is a restricted free agent whose contract negotiations have generated a lot of speculation. The forward might be able to command somewhere between $8M and $10M per season. Edmonton Sun writer Terry Jones mentioned $7.9M as a number for Draisaitl in a Wednesday tweet: "Now that McDavid is done, put me down for eight years at $7.9 million for Draisaitl."
Now that McDavid is done, put me down for eight years at $7.9 million for Draisaitl.
— Terry Jones (@byterryjones) July 5, 2017
Given that McDavid's $100M contract won't come into play until 2018/19, a large Draisaitl salary might work in Edmonton for the short term.
However, over the long term, Edmonton might have tons of salary locked up into two players if they sign Draisaitl. The German had 77 points in 82 games last season and then blossomed in the playoffs, tallying 16 points in 13 games.
Draisaitl, due to his age of 21 and near-point-per-game is a proven talent, would be considered the future of almost all NHL franchises with few exceptions.
If not for McDavid's presence in Edmonton, Draisaitl would be the player that Edmonton would be hanging their future hopes on. The German certainly appears to be more talented than Edmonton's non-McDavid picks in NHL drafts this decade.
The Oilers certainly have a complex situation at the moment, one that might call into question the higher-paid players that have underperformed as members of the Oilers.
For instance, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, once considered the future of the franchise, will bring a cap hit of $6,000,000 next season. That puts him on the trade block, but then big contracts without the big results aren't easy sells in the marketplace.
Draisaitl may need to be flexible
'Nuge' is another matter, but what the Oilers need to do with Draisaitl is sign him at something close to his asking price. However, in doing that they have to reject any kind of no-trade clause. That way Edmonton can go for the 2018 Stanley Cup with McDavid still at his piddly cap hit of just $925,000 next season. If the Oilers take a big cap hit for Draisaitl in 2017/18, then there are rooms for it because McDavid's big contract doesn't hit until 2018/19.
At that time, Edmonton could look at trading Draisaitl as there might not be room for him and McDavid both at big salaries down the road. Certainly, Draisaitl's trade value could be immense in the future. The key with Edmonton, as I see it, is to sign Draisaitl using the space currently available for next season, but keeping their option to trade him after that. All sides win in that scenario with Draisaitl getting a good contract, the Oilers retaining flexibility, and Edmonton fans having a team that is an imminent threat for major damage in the NHL.