Superstars like Draisaitl cost a lot even if they aren't the teams' #1 player ... probably 8.5M or more.

"Realistic"? Draisitl wants more than 8, and he likely won't settle for less than 7.5m. And that term? After seeing what McDavid got, he's not going to accept that. He's gonna want 7-8 years.

But he's not a superstar in many people's eyes. He's had one good year, most of that as McDavid's winger. That's the reason he's not being signed. Teams included the Oilers aren't spending 10% of their cap on a the unknown.
Sure Draistail can try to find one team that see him. as a superstar.....have you seen any takers?

hes gonna want much more $ than that. youre looking at 7.5 at the least, probably more than 8

Draisaitl gets 8 years at 9.25m/yr. This will be the last year RNH is an Oiler.

Again, so what. Does it really matter what Draisaitl wants? Seems like so many people are so paranoid about Draistail leaving the Oilers, they do not know what he limits options are this year. Do you?

I totally agree with palhal. Give him a 2 or 3 year bridge contract and see, what he can do. But I think, PC mist this opportunity one year ago.

The trade would tear my heart. As much as I would like to see RNH in a habs jersey, as much I would hate to see Gallagher leave Montreal.

Here's a pertinent question, if we're talking about trading RNH at deadline instead of year end.

- If RNH is struggling, but Gallagher returns to his previous 1/2RW form, does this trade still pass from MTL's side? (I'd say probably no)
- If RNH is struggling, but Gallagher doesn't return to previous form, does this trade still pass from EDM side? (I'd say probably yes)
- If RNH is thriving, but Gallagher doesn't return to previous form, does this trade still pass from EDM side? (taking into consideration cap needs for the following season... probably wait season-end)
- If both RNH and Gallagher are thriving, does this trade still pass from either side? (hard to tell...)

Love the rnh trade. Both players are highly undervalued. As for Draisaitl, if you compare him to what his peers make, that number makes sense. Maybe term is 7 years.

Gallagher is bad, 3rd liner is Not worth RNH. Rnh is a centre making him more valuable than undersized Gallagher

What most people miss is that only seven forwards in the league played tougher competition than RNH last year. He played against opponents top lines more than any other player on the Oilers team, giving McDavid and Draisaitl more opportunities against lesser opponents. He's a valuable player for the Oilers, even if he isn't scoring as well as many hoped. Even with his much greater defensive responsibilities, he still outscored Gallagher last year.

To gp440: Great "show me" contract for Draisaitl. It's basically what Calgary gave to Johnny Gaudreau, for similar results, although Gaudreau didn't have the advantage of playing next to the greatest offensive weapon in the league (he had to create his own offense).

I think RNH will have a "bounce-back" season, for the reasons outlined above: he won't have the same defensive responsibilities this year with McDavid having proved himself and McLellan wanting Draisaitl to center his own line at least some of the time. This leaves Nugent-Hopkins to center the third line, meaning lots of soft underbelly to feast on. Therefore, I see your trade as a big loss for the Oilers.