NHL Tonight: Derek Van Diest on Connor McDavid’s contract situation with the Edmonton Oilers next offseason.
** NHLRumors.com transcriptions
Mike Luft: “There’s no denying the value of those two guys – Draisaitl, McDavid. We saw it play out in that playoff run. How does this, next off-season, which is coming up down the road, how does all this affect Conor McDavid and his contract situation?
Van Diest: “Yeah, it does, and I think it affects in the sense that Conor McDavid is going to be the highest-paid player in hockey history in the next contract. I think he’s a guy that deserves it. He’s a guy that’s proven he’s a superstar.
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So he’s going to be the highest-paid player, and I think the domino will fall with, where they sign Draisaitl. Because you can’t just pay those two guys an exorbitant amount of money and not put a team around them.
And I think that’s what Sam Bowman said to me as well. We need to put guys around this team. It’s just not two guys. We need to kind of surround them with talented players.
But I think that will play out if Leon Draisaitl’s here for a long time and Connor McDavid goes, ‘Hey, my sidekicks going to be here for a long time.’ You can expect Connor McDavid to sign here for a long time. They both, management here in Edmonton, both want them here for their entire career. They want the dynamic duo, as they called here in Edmonton together, and they think as long as they stay together, they will extend that window.
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But yeah, I think a lot will depend on where Leon signs, how long his term is, when you come to the negotiations next year for Conor McDavid. Because Conor McDavid will become the highest-paid player in probably National League history when his contract is up in two seasons.”
Luft: “And deserves it so much.”
