It appears that the Boston Bruins have fallen out of favor if Draisaitl is unable to reach a deal with the Oilers. Early reports during the summer felt that the Bruins had the best chance of landing Draisaitl if he were to leave the Oilers to look for a better opportunity to win the Stanley Cup.
Several pundits in the NHL feel that the Oilers could still sign him to an extension that would be a max deal of eight years and a contract hit between 13.3 and $13.5 million according to Bob Stauffer a prominent Oilers insider.
The Bruins need a bonafide #1 center as Elias Lindholm signed a contract with the Bruins this summer. Lindholm could fill the role of top center for this year but it's likely general manager Don Sweeney would continue his search to find a player that would replace Bruins legends Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci.
Talks could break down between the Oilers and Draisaitl as earlier reports suggested he was looking for somewhere over $14 million per season.
Sweeney would likely continue to monitor the situation with the Oilers while dealing with his main contract concern, which is starting goaltender Jeremy Swayman who has yet to sign a long-term deal with the Bruins.
The time will tell if this changes in the next several weeks.
POLL | ||
Will Leon Draisaitl sign with the Edmonton Oilers? | ||
Yes | 59 | 72 % |
No | 23 | 28 % |
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