TSN: Frankie Corrado on TSN talking about Leon Draisaitl’s next big contract. How big does it get?
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Host: “Now Toronto has four of the 12 highest cap hits in the league right now with the core four to your point Frankie. At the very top of that list, of course, is Auston Matthews at $13.25 million. So that brings me now to Leon Draisaitl. Should his next deal eclipse Matthews as the highest-paid player in the league?
Corrado: “It absolutely should. And this is the way the league works. Salary cap goes up certain players contracts are expiring and Leon Draisaitl is going to get a significant raise. His raise starts at $13.25 and then the conversation goes up from there.
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We’re talking about a guy who’s a three-time 50-goal scorer. Five times in his career has had over 100 points including the last three seasons, and he’s been one of the best playoff performers that we’ve seen in the NHL in recent years.
So yes, Leon Draisaitl’s new deal, because the cap is going up, because of the success he’s had in the regular season in the playoffs, absolutely has to eclipse Austin Matthews $13.25 (million). The question just becomes, how high does it go? How high will the Edmonton Oilers be able to afford it?
You know, but really when it comes down to it looks like the Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid. You know Connor McDavid signed his deal a little before Nathan MacKinnon. Nathan McKinnon’s came up, it was $12.6 (million), McDavid was $12.5 (million).
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Austin Matthews has his deal at $13.25 (million). That’s the starting point. The question is just how much higher does Leon Draisaitl’s contract go above Austin Matthews?