Crosby and Malkin, Benn and Seguin, Backstrom and Ovechkin, Toews and Kane, and now McDavid and Draisaitl. After years of waiting and months of agonizing negotiation, the Edmonton Oilers have finally locked in their dynamic duo. The two players will be with the franchise for the next eight seasons and will make a combined $168 million dollars. Following a successful 47 win 2017 regular season campaign, the two ended a 10 year playoff drought and propelled the team to the 2nd round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. More importantly, they re-energised the city of Edmonton and its once-disheartened fanbase, reminding them of the glory days of Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier wore the orange and blue in western Canada. However, after a difficult defeat in game 7, the two entered the summer facing more questions about their contract situation than their playoff performance.

Last year the two combined for an impressive 177 regular season points, more than Crosby and Malkin or Benn and Seguin or even Toews and Kane. However, their success left many fans around the league wondering what their asking price would be come contract time. Many experts predicted that McDavid could ask for more than $14 Million dollars per season and Draisaitl could ask for around $9 million. Either way, their offensive playmaking abilities along with their age guaranteed that the the duo would be worth more than any other current NHL dynamic duo.

McDavid agreed to a deal paying him an average salary of about $12.5 million dollars a year for the next 8 years. While some fans were originally critical of this contact and it’s gaudy total, it is clear that those who were critical did not posses all of the pertinent facts. First, Mcdavid is giving the city and team “the hometown discount.” Many experts thought McDavid’s talent would be worth $14 or even $15 million dollars given the Oilers salary cap situation, but McDavid graciously chose to take less money as an investment in the team’s future success, allowing the team the cap flexibility to chase top free agents and trade for other elite talent. McDavid also will account for roughly 15% of the Oilers total cap space. This proportion is almost exactly what Sidney Crosby agreed to take back when he signed his 12-year, $104.4 million dollar contract back in 2012. Finally, McDavid also chose to leave money on the table to help pay for his expensive partner in crime. Just about a month after McDavids extension came the announcement of Draisaitl’s 8-year, $68 million dollar deal.

The deals are set to make McDavid and Draisaitl the highest paid dynamic duo in the league, carrying an average annual cap value of $21 million dollars. This is precisely the fact that worries fans and experts the most. Many people around the league have began to wonder what it will mean for future dynamic duos like Auston Matthews and William Nylander of the Maple Leafs. Still, what makes these contracts different from previous dynamic duo deals is that they have put the onus on the players to perform rather than the organization to pay. Other deals such as the matching 8-year, $84 million dollar deals given to Chicago Blackhawks superstars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane have been criticized for rewarding them based on their previous accomplishments instead of motivating them to win more in the future. After all, the Blackhawks haven’t won a single Stanley Cup since signing toews and Kane to their big deals. Additionally, as the salary cap increases, the contracts will continue to increase in value just as Sidney Crosby’s has. Chances are, in the years leading up to the contacts 2026, the Oilers will be underpaying McDavid. Both deals also include no trade clauses, but in both cases the deals don’t kick in until the 5th year of the contact, reserving the organization the right to trade one of both of them if they don’t like the direction that they or the team is heading.

There is no doubt about it: The Oilers are committing a massive amount of money towards these two young stars, but this tandem has displayed something that you can’t teach, chemistry. When Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz was asked about why Washington’s duo (Ovechkin and Backstrom) are so successful he responded,” A lot of times Backstrom can read where Ovie’s going and what he’s thinking…They have a sixth sense on the ice together.” That ‘sixth sense” that Trotz is discussing is exactly what the Oilers believe McDavid and Draisaitl both posses. This sense is evident given the fact that 15 of Draisaitl’s 29 goals were assisted by McDavid.

Although these deals may seem like a financial burden now they will likely pay off in the future. Considering that the average age amongst many current NHL dynamic duos is 31 years old, Oilers fans can rest assured that the team will remain competitive for years to come. With the deals expiring in 2026, McDavid and Draisaitl will turn 28 and 29 respectively when their contract ends, leaving them with some of their best hockey still in front of them. More importantly, it leaves the Oilers with more cap space to pay the dynamic duo, and if they live up to their expectations, fans know that the cap room will come in quite handy.