The Carolina Hurricanes sent a shockwave through the NHL when they signed Seth Jarvis to a deferred-money deal, a strategy the Edmonton Oilers need to immediately look at with Leon Draisaitl.
Jarvis signed an 8 year contract extension that has a phantom 9th year attached, where Jarvis will receive a bonus payment of deferred money through the deal. This means Jarvis' annual salary cap hit is lower, and the 9th year payment doesn't count against the salary cap - it's only out of ownership's pocket. The best part is, there's no limit to the amount of deferred salary, or how long the deferred payments can last.
NHL insider Frank Seravalli proposed a hypothetical contract that would see Draisaitl have only $10M in annual salary, and then deferred payments from the Oilers of $840K annually from 2033 until 2073 - that do not count against the salary cap. This would meet and even surpass Draisaitl's contract expectations, pay him consistently for life, and guarantee him $80M in the first 8 years. The Oilers would save $4.2M annually against the salary cap this way.
Things could get even crazier if Draisaitl and Oilers ownership were more willing to get his annual average down. Shohei Ohtani in MLB had a major deferred money contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, a deal that pays him just $2M for 10 years and then $680M in deferred payments.
This is obviously a contract strategy that the Oilers are likely looking into already, and may want to propose towards Leon Draisaitl. It would be a major financial commitment for life from Oilers ownership, but for some of the best players in franchise history - it will be well worth it for the annual payments until they're senior citizens.
