Can the Oilers afford to allow Draisaitl to enter next season without an extension? 

Trade him and somehow bundle Nurse into the deal. Might as well do it now while his value is high.

I heard that he wants to play in Boston.

Edmonton has no chance to get past the 1st round if they even make the playoffs.

Draisaitl's cap, based on my own valuation of offensive players points to salary (100k per expected point), is in the $12.5 to $13 million range. McDavid has consistently hurt Draisaitl's production through his Oilers career because McDavid always has to have the hottest and best wingers playing with him to produce. Drasaitl has consistently gotten 3rd and 4th line wingers to play with, and should any of them get hot they're immediately moved to McDavid's wing. He's in the $14 to $15 million range on a team where he's consistently getting to play with top line wingers. He's a $15+ million dollar player in Nashville, where he'll no longer be able to put up 4 points a game against them for the duration of his contract.

LOL you can tell which comments are from Oiler haters.

This was their only chance , now teams will be healthy to whoop em lol

Draisaitl Sucks!! Guy had to turn his hockey stick into a shovel in order to score one-timers. McDavid needs a player who can pass back to him so he can score, not someone with no puck handling skills that sits at the side of the net waiting for a one-timer.

$14 per is way too much. McKinnon is only getting 12.6 per.

Help me out here with the UFA 'walks for nothing' business. I tried to read it on reddit/hockey, but couldn't see the answer in a forest of threads. Best I can understand it, if you sign Draisatl in order to trade him, then in a trade you get to choose from the pool of similarly talented players that are also under contract. If you let him walk, then in a subsequent acquisition to replace him you get to choose from the completely separate pool of players that are not under contract. Either way, you have the same amount of purchasing power, the same amount of cap room. It's really which of the two pools of players is better to choose from, that's all. So walking for nothing has nothing to do with it. That's a misnomer. Am I right or completely out to lunch??

Crysaitl doesn't have the heart. Nurse should be flipping burgers, McDavid doesn't know what a team is and should never be a Captain. You guys will Never touch the cup

Rishaug tries to act smart but he isnt lol

What is this 14 and 16 million crap. Having them at 37-38 years old 14-16 million on cap is crazy. Front load the contract and get it 12.5-13 for 8 years. The difference is a wing for one of them. The leon plays with top 9 players now, what if they take money away from other guys.

It's a damn shame the world couldn't see the greatness of draisaitl, guy had a broken hand and broken rib

Some of these comments are hilarious. Who the fuck else is out there? Get a couple of top six pretenders whose agents sell their services like 2 shiny Ferraris, but can't crack 75 points in a season. Happens all the time. The list of top 6 pretenders is so long. Draisaitl is a guaranteed performer and performance deal. Nuff said.

Need to lose nurse and Campbell

Edmonton isn't comparable to a city like Boston, no offense.

Marner and a couple of first round draft picks for Draisaitl.... No...? Darn

Bring him back. You won't regret.

12.5 minimum! aav }}} ow an offer sheet!

They’ll be looking to part ways with Edmonton in order to play for a team in a state or province that has significantly less tax then what Oilers, and most Canadian teams, have which makes playing on a Canadian team a nightmare and no go for most NHL players.

drail might go to bruins

Whatever the Oilers do, I’m sure it’ll make the team worse instead of better pretty much like usual😂. One step forward two steps back

He would be a perfect fit in Carolina. You’d be a nice touch on the 4th line…maybe 3rd line.

if they extend Draisaitl and Bouchard, next year is their last chance to win. Their cap situation will be awful, worse than the leafs. Especially with that Nurse contract

Yes

I know Draisaitl is one of the best wingers, but at this moment what matters to Oilers to try again the Stanley Cup next season is DEFENSE.

Can Oiler fans afford the credit card bill about to arrive?

He is not that bad broken rib bad hand there are others not mentioned that need to go

Also.. what the hell is Button smoking?? The FURTHEST the Islanders went WITH Tavares was the second round. Where they lost. In just 5 games. To Tampa. And not a Tampa team that made 3 straight Finals. Nope. A Tampa team that lost to Pittsburgh the very next round. Tavares has gone just as far and been just as successful as he was with the Islanders. There's literally no difference between the two. It just doesn't feel like a fluke when the Leafs make the playoffs. Might feel like a fluke when they win a round, but they make the playoffs like clockwork. With NYI, Tavares was lucky to make it back to back seasons. Not similar. Not at all, actually. The only thing better for Draisatl leaving would be winning a Cup. This is literally as close as you can get without one. A one goal loss in a game 7. Comparing it to Tavares is pointless with that "Well, you never won anything with the Leafs either". Never came close with the Islanders, why not leave? Draisatl was close. Agonizingly so. Still don't think that matters much. It's not horseshoes and hand grenades. I'd stick with it one more year. Florida did, they won. If you fall short again, then move. But I wouldn't rush to sign this extension. Honestly, I'd make Bouchard and Ekholm a priority. It's clear that their maturation makes Edmonton a stronger team and Hyman & RNH at least cover what Leon does in the regular season. If someone with a bit more defensive capability and the capacity to add something offensively comes along, picks and a trade. He's Ekblad 2 years ago: incredibly offensively competent but lacking in the style of hockey that wins championships. And he's not going to become that player, so find someone who can leave their ego by the door and contribute in a way that isn't just numbers on the scoresheet.

HOOP

Canucks is too mercy to Draisaitl, they should keep hard hitting him after game 1 until he is out of the season, hope they can do better next season 😅

Without McDavid he is a no show Don’t need him

I think this logic is a sound strategy…I think the Oilers see what kind of players they can get . Maybe help the D or a starter in net . Skinner has earned the right to be given a chance but can he do it again? Then you add the Nurse Contract that is way too high . In the final the depth player like Janmark, McLeod, Holloway , Brown all outperformed Driasaitl at times. I would not want to be in a Leaf’s situation where 3-5 players take a huge chunk of the cap . That model doesn’t work as we have seen . I think he could help the Oilers get set up to compete for yrs with the return he would garner . This is a really tough call with many factors. If Leon gets 14 million , Connor 16-17 million , Bouchard 10 million, Nurse 9 Million …. Oiler essentially are stuck like the leafs . Even at a 94 million cap increase that is a tight cap gap to think you can build a top team on 50 million of space . Esp in Canada with the tax laws and that alone makes players want to go south .

Trade him

Give him $12-13M and get him a $1-3M endorsement deal with Adidas or something. Cant lose him and can't afford to pay crazy money

Edmonton doesn't have a choice. And McDavid is already making too much money for a player with zero Cups, not to mention Darnell Nurse.

Trade Leon Draisaitl for Brady Tkachuk even up. German Leon Draisaitl can play with German Tim Stutzle in Ottawa. Brady Tkachuk can be the new Messier. Brady Tkachuk only makes $8.205 AAV. Leon Draisaitl will destroy Edmontons cap while Brady opens up the cap.

He played like crap in the finals. When they needed him the most, he was MIA. Trade him

Draisaitel to sign in SJ.

Wake up for crying out loud, Draisaitl is a lazy burn out and doesn't have the stamina to be a stanley cup winner. Trade the over-rated lug and get two top six assets.

He's overrated. a powerplay specialist, no doubt. But put him against a really good defense (like Florida), and he'll ghost. Trade him snd get something more valuable in return. I have a feeling Draisaitls value is gonna drop pretty soon

Leon's contract should be based on his performance in the finals.

2 man team got exposed when none of them showed up when it mattered😂😂😂 leave the oilers to a good nhl team and put up triple the points. Deadmonton is holding both players potential back by icing a beer league team.