How will Nylander's deal affect Draisaitl's next Oilers contract?
The Edmonton Oilers should have been paying close attention to the William Nylander contract negotiations with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Whether they like it or not, Nylander’s eight-year contract worth $92 million should have a big impact on where negotiations will go with Leon Draisaitl, who is only under contract through next season.
The German power forward is due for a hefty raise on his next contract after exceeding all expectations on an eight-year deal worth an AAV of $8.5 million that he signed back in 2017. The amount of production he has brought this Oilers team while making far below market value will undoubtedly result in Edmonton having to back up the Brinks truck if they want him to remain with the team.
Since signing his current contract, Draisaitl is second in the league with 249 goals and 579 points in 405 games.
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During that same period, Nylander had 170 goals and 410 points, far below Draisaitl. This means that $11.5 million will most likely be the starting point — not the ending point — when the Oilers eventually head to the table with Draisaitl and his agent, Andy Scott.
This sounds like bad news for a cap-strapped Edmonton team, but it isn’t as terrible as you might think. At least $8.5 million of that new contract will be opened up for that new extension since Draisaitl’s current deal will come off the books. The Oilers will also have Cody Ceci’s $3.25 million expiring that same summer, which will give Edmonton at least $11.75 million to play with initially.
That is not including any of the suspected cap raises that the NHL will be experiencing over the next two summers as well.
Finding money for Draisaitl shouldn’t be the issue, but it may cause problems with other negotiations that summer as both Ryan McLeod and Evan Bouchard appear, at this moment, to also be in line for big pay raises around the same time.
The Oilers are currently paying their top forwards more than $10 million less than the Leafs are paying their “core four” but that is bound to change when Edmonton needs to get Draisaitl (and later McDavid) signed to what should be some pretty expensive extensions.