An old, weak argument.

Show me ANY other profession where an individual is "elite" and practicing 5-7days a week at 10yrs old (or less)!

Show me ANY other profession where an individual sacrifices physically and mentally, foregoing most of life's "undisciplined joys" at 10yrs old (or less).

Show my ANY other profession that millions of people watch on media.

Show me ANY profession that thousands of people pay hundreds of dollars to watch them work.

Show me ANY other profession that creates as many secondary industries (tourism, food, entertainment, airlines, travel, busses, cars, limos, hotels, equipment, Healthcare, nutrition, BLOGGING ON THE INTERNET, etc etc etc etc

Yes, it's a game, but the free market forces that people (you and I) have established means that pro athletes are worth EVERY single penny.

I know zero doctors who started training to be the top 0.05% of their profession from age 10 or less.

This Is such an old, bitter, and frankly a jealous comment.

They deserve every last penny...and in the case of the NHL...much more!
- JLO961

Absolutely agreed but Bronco is either incredibly stupid or trolling so dont expect a good discussion here !

Differences in revenue among sports. Hockey is by far the last in terms of revenue. Salaries are to a great extent guided by it.

Could maybe argue they are spending fan's money since we pay them for the entertainment. Only other way would be revenue sharing which doesnt apply to EDM since they arent a struggling team.
- xShoot4WarAmpsx

Once the fans hand over the money it's no longer theirs, it's the Oilers' money. If I buy a loaf of bread at the grocery store and the store uses the proceeds to pay an employee, they're not paying the employee with my money, they're paying the employee with their money.

There is risk here. It’s similar to Sanderson getting $8.05 Mil/8 yrs and Power $8.35 Mil/7 yrs. Teams are projecting ceiling and locking them up. All are 21-22 so the deals expire by age 30.

It’s a reversal of teams paying high salaries to aging veterans and giving more modest salaries to younger players.
- Minnyhock

Exactly, it's a calculated risk. The Wild likely took that risk a little sooner than they would have liked because Makar can re-up two summers from now and is expected to dramatically reset the market for D's (cue the 3024th version of that dude's dumba$$ rant). They probably would have liked to have seen Faber another season before going long term but if they gave him two or three years he would be up after Makar gets 12 or 13 or whatever he's getting. If all goes well for MN, in a few years, media idiots will be talking about the 'team friendly' deal that Faber signed like they did for years with MacKinnon.

Absolutely agreed but Bronco is either incredibly stupid or trolling so dont expect a good discussion here !
- Xizord

It’s both.

Has anyone else even reported on this? I have seen nothing on TSN or Sportsnet that this is even imminent. Bowman just got introduced, so I don't think he's had any time to get the deal done yet. Unless Jeff Jackson has already negotiated the deal and Bowman dots the i's and crosses the t's.

Look at the difference in revenue in those sports. Oilers are screwed going forward
- LFS

lol like in the Blackhawks video room champ?

If Draisaitl’s smart he’d accept nothing more than $15 mill

The highest paid player in the NHL last season was Nathan MacKinnon ($16.5M).

Yes, but his cap hit of $12.6M is far more valuable information.

Anyways, the cap is going up about 5% next season and Matthews is a the only comparable to sign last year. Doing the math gets Drai approx $13.95M x 5 years. Adding in the extra 3 years shouldn't change the salary much. He won't be worth more in years 6-8, but the cap will keep going up so he'll take up a smaller portion of it by then.

I doubt he'll demand over $14M so $13.95M is his upper limit and anything less is a good deal for the team.

An old, weak argument.

Show me ANY other profession where an individual is "elite" and practicing 5-7days a week at 10yrs old (or less)!

Show me ANY other profession where an individual sacrifices physically and mentally, foregoing most of life's "undisciplined joys" at 10yrs old (or less).

Show my ANY other profession that millions of people watch on media.

Show me ANY profession that thousands of people pay hundreds of dollars to watch them work.

Show me ANY other profession that creates as many secondary industries (tourism, food, entertainment, airlines, travel, busses, cars, limos, hotels, equipment, Healthcare, nutrition, BLOGGING ON THE INTERNET, etc etc etc etc

Yes, it's a game, but the free market forces that people (you and I) have established means that pro athletes are worth EVERY single penny.

I know zero doctors who started training to be the top 0.05% of their profession from age 10 or less.

This Is such an old, bitter, and frankly a jealous comment.

They deserve every last penny...and in the case of the NHL...much more!
- JLO961

I disagree with this; respectfully. I think its time we all examined what we consider as "the cost of things" when we look at our lives. From our rotten government officials to the people who entertain, at a certain point, there is such a thing as too much. Particularly when it has been shown that every "increase" is dropped on the consumer and tax payer. Every price hike in: food, merch, and admission is a direct result of these salaries going up and the ownership gouging the fans everywhere.



Not to be dramatic, but I would not shed a single tear watching all the sports leagues fold. Their value declines sharply every time they try and take another extra dollar or dime. I for one won't support these things anymore.

I disagree with this; respectfully. I think its time we all examined what we consider as "the cost of things" when we look at our lives. From our rotten government officials to the people who entertain, at a certain point, there is such a thing as too much. Particularly when it has been shown that every "increase" is dropped on the consumer and tax payer. Every price hike in: food, merch, and admission is a direct result of these salaries going up and the ownership gouging the fans everywhere.



Not to be dramatic, but I would not shed a single tear watching all the sports leagues fold. Their value declines sharply every time they try and take another extra dollar or dime. I for one won't support these things anymore.
- hockeyaddict89

Salaries are based on revenue. As long as people are paying, the players will get paid accordingly.

It's an individual choice. You can choose whether or not to spend your time and money on sports. If you don't like it, then fine; don't watch the games, attend the games, or buy licensed apparel.

I disagree with this; respectfully. I think its time we all examined what we consider as "the cost of things" when we look at our lives. From our rotten government officials to the people who entertain, at a certain point, there is such a thing as too much. Particularly when it has been shown that every "increase" is dropped on the consumer and tax payer. Every price hike in: food, merch, and admission is a direct result of these salaries going up and the ownership gouging the fans everywhere.



Not to be dramatic, but I would not shed a single tear watching all the sports leagues fold. Their value declines sharply every time they try and take another extra dollar or dime. I for one won't support these things anymore.
- hockeyaddict89

Saying this on a hockey site surely show them ( and a tad not believebale)

in all seriousness, its been a long while iI dont go to the Habs because of the price and the fact I see just oh so well on my HD tv !

Dont get me wrong if I won ticket or get some from a supplier i'll be hapy to go, but not paying those prices anymore

Salaries are based on revenue. As long as people are paying, the players will get paid accordingly.

It's an individual choice. You can choose whether or not to spend your time and money on sports. If you don't like it, then fine; don't watch the games, attend the games, or buy licensed apparel.
- jmatchett383

exact, its also not true there a decline, save maybe MLB but even then they were so ahead of hockey revenue wise

its no different then CEO's making crazy ammount of money to mostly sit on their 2 hands all day

Totally agree!!!! U can be 12th man on bench in NBA and make 4 mil... never see game action.. if anything Hockey players deserve more than what they are making, But NHL isnt as wealthy as NFL and NBA