Don’t expect Leon Draisaitl to leave the Oilers any time soon

Leon Draisaitl is having another fantastic playoff run, with 9 goals and 25 points in 15 games. But once again, it’s proving to be not enough to continue to advance the Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs, with the team down 2-1 to the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final.

It creates a little bit of intrigue because Draisaitl finds himself in the final year of his eight-year, $8.5 million AAV contract next season, and is eligible for an extension. Will another season without a Stanley Cup create some doubt for Draisaitl that he can win in Edmonton? Will it possibly convince Oilers management that they need to shake up the core or not allocate so much money to the players due for extensions soon?

Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk talked about the possibility of Draisaitl moving on if this season doesn’t go according to plan on Daily Faceoff Live.

Frank Seravalli: Yeah I don’t see it and I don’t really understand the hysteria and buzz around it because I’ve always viewed these two players as a package deal. There’s only one place that Draisaitl can play with the best player on planet Earth, and it’s here in Edmonton. And by the way, they also happen to be best friends.

Tyler Yaremchuk: He’s going to be standing next to him at his wedding!

Frank Seravalli: It’s going to be hard to envision those two separating from each other. I think maybe the conversation is different if the Oilers had won a Stanley Cup, then Draisaitl could branch off and go on his own…

Tyler Yaremchuk: He can change his legacy a little bit

Frank Seravalli: The Oilers are going to have to pay regardless and they know that. That’s the complicating part that we talked about yesterday with Darnell Nurse is they’ve got to pay Evan Bouchard too. He stretches now into, what, $10 million a year after the bridge deal? After an 82-point season and a monster playoffs, probably!

So Draisaitl needs a raise, Bouchard needs a raise, eventually in the near future Connor McDavid needs a raise. It’s a lot of raises.

You can watch the full episode here…