There were likely a lot of congratulatory fist bumps being traded inside the Edmonton Oilers offices at Rogers Place on Tuesday after the team signed star forward Leon Draisaitl to an eight-year, $112 million contract.
Locking up the dynamic German sniper does two things for the Oilers: it avoids the distraction of having Draisaitl’s contract status hanging over the 2024 season and it shows star center Connor McDavid the team is committed to winning.
But given Draisaitl’s enormous new cap hit — $14M per year, the highest in NHL history — can the Oilers really afford to keep McDavid as well?
If Draisaitl is worth as much as Edmonton agreed to pay him, then McDavid, who’s scored 100 or more points in seven of his nine NHL seasons and 30 or more goals in eight seasons, has got to be worth significantly more — likely between $14M and $18M per year.
