It was never a matter of it, just when. Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers have come to terms on an 8 year deal with an annual AAV of 14 million, making him the highest paid player in the NHL until next season when McDavid signs his 8 year extension with Edmonton.

This is a huge win for the Edmonton Oilers and the fanbase as a whole. A Draisaitl 8 year extension makes a McDavid extension all but guaranteed. The Oilers fanbase should get to watch two of the best players in the NHL on a regular basis for nearly another full decade.

Onto the Draisaitl deal itself. We have heard for the past couple weeks that the two sides have been talking and originally the number seemed like it was closer to 13.5 million, but as the cap continues to now grow, players are going to want a bigger slice of the pie. This is not a home town discount by any stretch but Leon has also spent the last seven years blowing his previous contract out of the water.

Put it into perspective this way, Nathan MacKinnon's contract has an AAV of 12.6 million which right now is 15.1% of his team's total cap. Next season, the cap is likely going to be 92 million. Draisaitl's contract will be 15.2% of the total cap. That is well within the margins of other elite players who have signed their long term deals.

Leon is a regular 100+ point producer, has scored 50+ goals twice in the last three seasons and 40+ in the other and he is regularly one of the most dominant point producers in the playoffs as well. There are some parts of his game that can frustrate on nights in the regular season, but when the games matter the most #29 can look like the best player on the ice, even when he is sharing the ice with McDavid.

Don't worry about how this contract will look when the player is 35 or 36. The Oilers have locked up one of their best players for the remainder of his prime and he will continue to help give this Oilers team a chance at a Stanley Cup... hopefully more.

Thanks for reading.

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