The Edmonton Oilers are in the rumours conversation today and it doesn’t appear to be great news. We provided an update back in early July on the progression of his contract extension with the club. Now, that timeline that superstar centre Leon Draisaitl had previously mentioned is closing in on us. Therefore, we are here to provide an update on the details that are available.
On Draisaitl remaining unsigned, Seravalli told me:
"It's unfair to categorize it as hitting a snag."
"On a money basis, AAV, I think these two sides are a little further apart than I envisioned."@OilersNow | #Oilers
— Brenden Escott (@BrendenEscott) August 27, 2024
Latest Leon Draisaitl Signing with Edmonton Oilers Rumours
Today’s rumours come from Brenden Escott, who is apart of the team with Bob Stauffer at OilersNow. Escott was chatting with renown hockey insider Frank Seravalli. Granted, the news isn’t horrible, as Seravalli said that
“It’s unfair to categorize it as hitting a snag.”
From an Oilers fan perspective, and when you consider the fact Draisaitl is still under contract for the upcoming season at $8.5 M, it’s definitely not all bad news.
Now, it does seem there is reason for a bit of reluctance from Oilers fans to get excited. First of all, was the fact that back in early July, when we reported these rumours, was the deadline. At the time, Draisaitl’s agent said
“by the end of August, or it doesn’t work out at all.”
When Will the Timing Be Right?
So, it is now that time. However, that was more than likely just a type of timeline of being before training camp hits. Realistically, Draisaitl and the Oilers still have the entire 2024-25 season to come to an understanding. After the season, the pending unrestricted free agent, Draisaitl, will hit the open market. This would even give general manager Stan Bowman more time to shuffle the roster around accordingly. Thus, being able to absorb Draisaitl’s lofty price tag.
That seems to be a current issue, the dollar and cent’s part. Seravalli went onto mention
“On a money basis, AAV, I think these two sides are a little further apart than I envision.”
There haven’t been any hard numbers provided in these latest Edmonton Oilers rumours. However, it does seem that Draisaitl commands somewhere around $13-14 M in annual average value. The difficulty then becomes, how will the Oilers be able to afford such a figure? They are already a club that is at the cap. One nice thing, is there are a few other UFAs, that will free up some money. But will it be enough? For example, three of those contracts are only around $1M (Corey Perry, Derek Ryan, Connor Brown).
The Oilers also have to re-sign a restricted free agent next year, Evan Bouchard. He will also be looking for a big raise. It just seems like there are too many unknowns at this point. The Oilers consider themselves Stanley Cup contenders in 2024-25, and having ongoing contract negotiations with one of their stars is not a distraction they need. The Evander Kane situation is a big one that time will help to bring clarity to the bigger picture. His $5-plus million contract is a factor in the decision-making process. One good thing to keep in mind, is that the salary cap should go up. This would give the Oilers some money for Draisaitl (and ultimately, Bouchard as well).
Main photo: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports
