Insider Predicts Leon Draisaitl Negotiations Won't Go Well in Edmonton

Leon Draisaitl has been one of the major reasons the Edmonton Oilers have had any success over the last 5 years. Playing alongside Connor McDavid, Draisaitl has been the goalscoring touch that perfectly accentuates McDavid's playmaking ability. Now, though, Leon Draisaitl is set for a contract negotiation soon, and insider Darren Dreger is predicting that he will want to see how things play out.

Leon Draisaitl, if he wants, will undoubtedly be pursued by any team in the NHL that can make the cap situation work. Draisaitl currently sits with a pretty team-friendly contract at $8.5 million AAV. He is assuredly looking for a pay increase, especially considering the state of players getting the 11-13 million AAV range.

If it is true that Leon Draisaitl is thinking about testing the open market, that makes the pressure to win in Edmonton that much more pressing. The window of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl being together is closing. Even if the Oilers get something done with Leon Draisaitl, they will have to go through this same signing predicament with Connor McDavid in a few years, and there is no doubt that they won't want to let him hit the free market.

We will see how things play out this summer, however, the Oilers have a bigger task ahead of them still, which is to win the Stanley Cup. They may even consider resting McDavid and Draisaitl down the stretch in order to do so.

As seen on Blade of Steel - "Insider believes Draisaitl, Oilers negotiations will hit a snag"