[TSN] “How many players will surpass Draisaitl’s AAV?”
July 31, 2025
I think McDavid will. Bedard might when the time comes.
11 comments
Any star in their prime 3 years from now.
McDavid will. Eichel will.
Dude, bedard won’t. Not this contract.
Lots. When Leon signed his first long term deal the per year salary was near top of the league. Everyone then caught up. Rinse … repeat.
Kaprizov will very likely.
Bedard I’d say depends on how he performs this season. If he can put up 82p+ he could get a massive 8Y deal. If he can’t, I could see a bridge instead.
Matthews ABSOLUTELY will with the rising cap and new CBA limiting extensions to 7Y.
Kaprizov
I think Kaprizov will. Not because he’s better than Drai. But because Minnesota needs to make sure he stays. McDavid will. I don’t think Eichel will. Probably 13 for him. Next after that… possibly Celebrini if San Jose wants to go max on him
From now until whenever, a ton. In a few years this contract will look cheap.
Part of the reason the avs traded mikko was to prepare for Cale’s next contract
The NHL is going through an explosion in revenue similar to what the NBA did around 2015.
If you want a comparison for how team friendly Draisaitl’s deal is, [here’s a link to what the NBA max contract is based on percentage of player revenue.](https://www.spotrac.com/nba/cba/maximum) It started at $34 million for the lowest tier in 2023-24. That’s expected to grow to over $52.6M by 2030-31. That’s more than 50% growth for the same type of player over 8 years.
So the answer is a lot of people will be making more than $14 million in the very near future. [Here’s next year’s free agent list.](https://www.spotrac.com/nhl/free-agents/_/year/2026/sort/contract_value) I think McDavid, Panarin, Eichel, Kaprizov and Makar are all taking massive discounts if they take anything less than $14 million. I could see a world where Robertson, Connor and Bobrovsky all get there if finances is what they care about.
11 comments
Any star in their prime 3 years from now.
McDavid will. Eichel will.
Dude, bedard won’t. Not this contract.
Lots. When Leon signed his first long term deal the per year salary was near top of the league. Everyone then caught up. Rinse … repeat.
Kaprizov will very likely.
Bedard I’d say depends on how he performs this season. If he can put up 82p+ he could get a massive 8Y deal. If he can’t, I could see a bridge instead.
Matthews ABSOLUTELY will with the rising cap and new CBA limiting extensions to 7Y.
Kaprizov
I think Kaprizov will. Not because he’s better than Drai. But because Minnesota needs to make sure he stays. McDavid will. I don’t think Eichel will. Probably 13 for him. Next after that… possibly Celebrini if San Jose wants to go max on him
From now until whenever, a ton. In a few years this contract will look cheap.
Makar, Mathews, Kaprizov, Quinn Hughes, Eichel, McDavid
NHL legend, Ryan Poelling
Part of the reason the avs traded mikko was to prepare for Cale’s next contract
The NHL is going through an explosion in revenue similar to what the NBA did around 2015.
If you want a comparison for how team friendly Draisaitl’s deal is, [here’s a link to what the NBA max contract is based on percentage of player revenue.](https://www.spotrac.com/nba/cba/maximum) It started at $34 million for the lowest tier in 2023-24. That’s expected to grow to over $52.6M by 2030-31. That’s more than 50% growth for the same type of player over 8 years.
So the answer is a lot of people will be making more than $14 million in the very near future. [Here’s next year’s free agent list.](https://www.spotrac.com/nhl/free-agents/_/year/2026/sort/contract_value) I think McDavid, Panarin, Eichel, Kaprizov and Makar are all taking massive discounts if they take anything less than $14 million. I could see a world where Robertson, Connor and Bobrovsky all get there if finances is what they care about.