NHL insider throws shade at Leon Draisaitl’s record breaking Oilers extension

The Edmonton Oilers feature two of the top players in the NHL on their roster in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and they managed to sign the latter to a huge eight-year, $112 million contract extension on Tuesday. While that’s quite a huge sum of money, there’s no doubt that Draisaitl is worth that chunk of change.

As a result, the Oilers are considered to be winners in this deal, as they are keeping one of the top players in the league under contract for an extended period of time. According to NHL insider Greg Wyshynski, though, he believes that the NHL is a loser as a result of Draisaitl committing his future to Edmonton, simply because of the location of the franchise, and the fact that arguably the two best players in the league are playing for the same team.

“Here’s the section that’s going to irk Oilers fans the most, but let’s be real: Draisaitl re-signing means it’s likely that two of the top five players in the NHL could be tethered to Alberta through 2033. Not New York or Chicago. Not Boston or Detroit. Not Toronto. Not Los Angeles. Edmonton. It’s not just about the city in which they play. It’s having two megastars on the same team in that city, rather than anchoring their own rosters among the league’s other 31 (for now) teams.” – Greg Wyshynski, ESPN

Does Leon Draisaitl’s Oilers extension hurt the NHL?

Edmonton isn’t exactly one of the big NHL teams, even though they found themselves one game away from winning the Stanley Cup last season. And of course, the league is going to want to keep parity intact across their league, so having two of the best players in the game on one team doesn’t exactly help them accomplish that goal.

The NHL likely isn’t mad about Draisaitl sticking around in Edmonton, but they probably also wouldn’t have been upset to see him eventually land with another team. That isn’t going to happen now whether the league likes it or not, though, and folks will have to get used to seeing Draisaitl rep the team’s colors if they haven’t already.

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