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What if Leon Draisaitl had “left money on the table”?

 Emma Wilson
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What if Leon Draisaitl had “left money on the table”?
Credit: Getty Images
I have a hard time with those who criticize Leon Draisaitl for his new contract.

Let’s face it: I love to see the Patrice Bergerons and Martin Brodeurs of this world leave money on the table to leave money for others. And I love it when these guys are rewarded with a Stanley Cup.

In my eyes, it’s noble of them and adds a little to the legend.

But I’m not going to throw the first stone at Leon Draisaitl after he’s accepted a contract commensurate with his talent. Because if the Oilers said yes, they’d rather pay $112 million than lose him.

It’s easy to tell someone they “should have left money on the table” for others, and I understand where that comes from. But don’t forget that it’s damn easy to tell a guy to leave eight, twelve, sixteen or twenty million dollars on the table when it’s not his money.

It’s all very well to ask how much money a man needs, but I wouldn’t throw the first stone at a guy who took advantage of what will undoubtedly be the greatest opportunity of his life to make money because he took advantage of it.

If he hadn’t, the Players’ Association would surely have asked him why, too.

But whatever. All that to say, I understand why Draisaitl did what he did. And while I understand those who fear the Oilers will never again have a chance to win the Stanley Cup because of it, I wouldn’t cast the first stone.

Why not? Because it’s not certain that the money “he would have left on the table” would really have been used to build a third line worthy of the Lightning of recent years, or to go out and get a real goalie.

No, in fact, if Draisaitl hadn’t taken the money, it probably would have ended up in the bank account of Connor McDavid (unrestricted free agent in two years) or Evan Bouchard (restricted free agent in one year), in the end.

And Draisaitl would have been no better off.

Because even if Draisaitl had taken $2 million less or deferred money into the future (which could have been an interesting compromise), the fact remains that with McJesus and Bouchard’s next contracts, the club will be on the hook anyway.

That’s the price of fame for having so many quality players: they’re entitled to ask for big cash.

And let’s finish with this: is Draisaitl’s contract, one of the league’s best players, really what’s going to hurt the Oilers… or will Darnell Nurse’s (kudos to Kent Hughes for the $9.25M cap hit ) hurt more?

Giving him that amount was the right thing to do, and losing him would have been a catastrophe. Seeing him ask for such an amount is also logical, if we don’t want the owners to eat the majority of the profits. The best players have to earn big bucks.

Besides, the Oilers put up the money for a guy who, unlike the Maple Leafs’ core 4 , has proven he can take the club to the next level with his 108 points in 74 playoff games. That’s why I don’t like the Toronto comparison.

And if it took a contract like that to keep him… so be it. But he’d better keep producing, though.


Overtime

– 14 M isn’t unusual in other sports.

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– Read more.

– Patrik Laine is proud to be back in Canada.

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