What a Team Friendly Contract Looks Like for McDavid, Draisaitl and Bouchard
Projecting what an Edmonton Oilers' friendly contract would look like for Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard.
Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports - What a Team Friendly Contract Looks Like for McDavid, Draisaitl and BouchardEDMONTON -- It takes a team to win a championship.
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As the Edmonton Oilers learned this past season, they need more than just Connor McDavid to go on a deep playoff run. It requires a whole team pulling on the rope in equal measure. Everyone needs to do their part.
It's about the team rather than "I" or "me". Because of this past season's success, could the trio of McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard take "team friendly" deals on their next contracts? An unconfirmed rumor suggests just that.
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Regardless of whether or not that comes to pass, what would a team friendly deal even look like? Let's take a look.
Fair Market Value For McDavid, Draisaitl and Bouchard
With the help of AFPAnalytics (AFP), we can get a rough estimate for what a deal surrounding each of these players looks like.
For Bouchard they are projecting an eight-year $9.68-million cap hit extension. While a seven-year $12.92-million deal is predicted for Draisaitl. They presently don't have a projection up for McDavid.
Auston Matthews is the most recent star to receive a contract extension in the NHL. He signed a $13.25-million four-year deal last summer that kicks in this season. McDavid has consistently produced more points than Matthews, so it seems fair to project his deal to carry a higher price tag. For the sake of this exercise, let's say $15-million is fair value.
Hometown Discount For McDavid, Draisaitl, and Bouchard
AFP published projected contract numbers before the start of free agency. So we can see what kind of discount some UFA's who re-signed with the Oilers took. We'll only look at multi-year deals for the sake of this exercise.
Adam Henrique was projected to be worth a three-year $4.3-million contract. He signed a two-year $3-million contract with the Oilers. Viktor Arvidsson could have signed a three-year $4.76-million cap hit deal. Instead, he agreed to join the Oilers on a two-year $4-million contract.
Doing the math, Henrique took a 30% discount and Arvidsson took a 15% discount.
Most pundits point to Henrique as the prime example of taking a "hometown discount." But 30% feels a bit high for the trio of McDavid, Draisaitl and Bouchard. In our example let's say it's 20%.
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Here is what a 20% discount would look like against the projections figured out above:
- Bouchard: $7.74-million
- Draisaitl: $10.33-million
- McDavid: $12-million
If McDavid, Draisaitl and Bouchard were to sign for $12-million, $10.33-million and $7.74-million, Oil Country would be doing cartwheels all season long. For sake of comparison, here is what a 15% discount would look like:
- Bouchard: $8.22-million
- Draisaitl: $10.98-million
- McDavid: $12.75-million
If these three players are going to take any kind of discount, 15% seems to make the most sense across the board. Bouchard and Draisaitl both get a decent raise on their deals. McDavid gets a slight uptick in salary.
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The next contract for these three players is huge. If all three leave money on the table, it would be a huge vote of confidence in the management and team. Additionally, it will prove to everyone that they want to win in Edmonton.
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