James Guillory-Imagn Images
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.
While most are asking themselves how Edmonton can fit two giant cap hits of $14M and up under the cap and build a competitive team around them, Oilers GM Stan Bowman doesn’t seem to be too concerned, and neither does Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
“The one thing I really believe strongly is this wasn’t a one-person negotiation,” Friedman told Sportsnet 590 The Fan. “This wasn’t them negotiating Draisaitl in a vacuum. There’s no way Draisaitl commits to this without a conversation with McDavid about what he’s thinking. … I have no doubt McDavid and Draisaitl did this together and it’s a very good omen for McDavid and the Oilers.”
McDavid’s contract is up after 2025-26 season, as are those of Evander Kane, Viktor Arvidsson, Adam Henrique and Mattias Ekholm.
The likelihood Edmonton can re-sign more than one of them after McDavid’s new deal is highly unlikely.
The Oilers will also have to pay star defenseman Evan Bouchard next offseason. Early estimates are that he’ll command a salary in the $9-10M range annually, so the Oilers could be looking at the very real possibility two years from now that three players could account for 45 percent or more of their cap space.
If that’s the case, the Oilers roster in 2026 and beyond could consist of McDavid, Draisaitl, Bouchard and a host of prospects and younger veterans playing on cheap, one-year contracts or for league-minimum salaries.
