Équipe: 2017-18 Oilers d'Edmonton

Date de création initiale: 22 juill. 2017

Publié: 22 juill. 2017

Mode - plafond salarial: Basique

I honestly don't see why Draisaitl should get more than Pastrnak at this point. Both played on the right wing on their teams top line with their team's most skilled players and put up similar numbers. And yet, people are talking about how Edmonton should rush to sign Leon for $8MM+ long term, on the basis that he'll provide a strong 1-2 punch at center for many year to come... without any actual evidence that he can play the position at an elite level in the NHL.

According to The Hockey News: "... giving the Oilers an incredible one-two punch down the middle... Draisaitl could be worth a boatload on his new deal, especially after McDavid signed an eight-year, $100-million contract. Draisaitl won’t command near the same amount, but don’t be surprised if he enters the $8-million range on a new deal."

And yet, according to the same source, Pastrnak has "... produced at a rate similar to the other top stars in Boston, so it seems reasonable he could command near the $6-million mark per year on his new deal. The trouble for Pastrnak is that he has no real bargaining chips. He’s locked in as an RFA, particularly as one without arbitration rights." No mention of the fact that Draisaitl is in the exact same situation! Leon is locked in as an RFA without arbitration rights - doesn't this mean he has "no real bargaining chips"?? So why give him over $8MM long term while Pastrnak is only worth "nearly $6MM"?

My opinion is that until Draisaitl proves that he is able to drive his own line against tough opposition away from McDavid, he shouldn't get paid like the superstar most think he'll turn out to be. Remember when Edmonton handed out premature long-term / big-money contracts to young players who hadn't proven able to sustain their high level of play? Yeah, and look how that turned out.

I'm going to bridge him. He isn't as skilled as Nikita Kucherov, but he is bigger and can play a heavier game. And I'm hoping he can carry the #2 line as a center, so I'll pay him more than Yzerman is paying Kucherov.

As for the Detroit trade, Green isn't necessary to the success of the Oilers but I think it gives their defense corps an interesting look. Markov (UFA) and Green are both experienced, stable (Green less so) offensively-minded veterans who should be able to give the young forwards more freedom to create offense. I noticed that Detroit doesn't have any great goaltending prospects who are ~2-years from NHL (they have their starter under contract for 2 more years), so I thought that Dylan Wells would be someone that they'd be interested in. A-level prospect + pick deal also gives them cap relief - I realize that Green isn't one of their "bad contract" problems, but $3MM over cap for a non-playoff team is ridiculous and it's high time they started doing something about it.