NHL Rumor Mill – September 3, 2024
Could the Oilers attempt to get Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid to accept deferred payments on their next contracts? Could that also be an option for the Devils and Dawson Mercer? Would it make sense for the Flyers to pursue Nicholas Robertson? Find out in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Jim Parsons wondered if the Edmonton Oilers will follow the Carolina Hurricanes’ lead and attempt to use deferred payments with Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid to lower their cap hits.
The Hurricanes recently signed forward Seth Jarvis to an eight-year, $63.2 million contract in which Jarvis will defer part of his annual salary to the end of the contract. Instead of an annual cap hit of $7.9 million, it’ll be $7.42 million.

Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl (NHL Images).
Draisaitl is slated to become an unrestricted free agent next July and could receive an eight-year contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $14 million from the Oilers. McDavid is eligible for UFA status in July 2026.
Parsons believes the Oilers could free up considerable cap space if both players agree to defer part of their salaries. He cited a hypothetical scenario by Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli in which Draisaitl agreed to defer $33.6 million of his contract to be paid out over 40 years following the completion of the deal.
Draisaitl would receive $80 million over the eight years of his contract in that scenario, lowering the AAV to $10 million. If McDavid’s deal was similarly structured, it could mean almost a combined $10 million annually not counting against the Oilers cap.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The deferred payment option has been part of the NHL CBA since 2005 but it’s rarely used because players prefer getting paid as much salary upfront as possible. Nevertheless, the Jarvis contract could result in more teams attempting to sign expensive talent to similar deals.
Deferred payments could help the Oilers lower the AAV on new contracts for Draisaitl and McDavid. That would make it possible for the club to put the cap savings toward maintaining a Stanley Cup contender by improving the roster depth.
Selling it that way to both players could be a convincing strategy. However, Seravalli also indicated that it’s uncertain how much of a salary-cap discount the league will allow before this blurs the line of salary-cap circumvention. A 40-year deferral could test those boundaries.
NEW JERSEY HOCKEY NOW: James Nichols also wondered if the Devils might attempt to go the same route in their negotiations with restricted free-agent winger Dawson Mercer.
The Devils have just over $4.9 million in cap space for 2024-25. That’s enough to sign the 22-year-old Mercer to a short-term deal worth less than 4 million annually but not enough to lock him up to a long-term contract unless he agrees to defer salary.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Contract talks between Mercer and the Devils probably advanced too far to toss deferred payments into the equation. Nichols suggests it might be a better option for Luke Hughes. The 21-year-old Devils defenseman becomes an RFA next July.
PHILLY HOCKEY NOW: Jonathan Bailey believes acquiring winger Nicholas Robertson from the Toronto Maple Leafs would make sense for the Flyers.
Robertson, 22, has requested a trade from the Maple Leafs. Bailey thinks Robertson’s youth and skills could make him a good fit for the rebuilding Flyers. He was also a former teammate with Flyers Cam York and Bobby Brink on Team USA’s U20 squad.
Bailey acknowledged the Leafs’ asking price could be an obstacle along with finding a suitable role with the Flyers. However, Robertson is younger and cheaper than most of the current Flyers’ wingers and could become a top-six forward with more playing time in Philadelphia.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Leafs general manager Brad Treliving insists he’s not trading Robertson and believes the young winger has a great opportunity to elevate his game this season in Toronto. There’s no indication that the Flyers are kicking tires on Robertson. Still, we can’t dismiss that possibility though it’s likely a remote one.
Considering Mercer hasn’t missed a game as a Devil, I think he signs before training camp starts. Probably a 2 year and then a long term contract after that.
i’m curious what Mercer’s agent is asking for. Mercer plays all out but has been inconsistent, and wouldn’t consider him a top line player (2nd liner). A bridge deal at 2yr/$4M AAV sounds about right.
mikeP, from what I have seen of Mercer, both during his time with Chicoutimi of the Q when playing the Gatineau Olympiques, his World Junior Under 20 participation, and since joining the Devils 3 seasons back, I would think they’d be wise to find some way to get him locked up long-term as soon as possible. From this vantage point I would say he is every bit essential to their core as are the Hughes brothers, Bratt, Hischier and Meier.
Besides being incredibly durable (has played in all 82 games his first 3 seasons), and with 82-game averages developed so far of 21g 22a 43 pts – which figures to grow annually over the next several seasons – he is that type of player who can either score from the dirty area in front of the net or see open teammates and set them up when most would be preoccupied with self-preservation. For that ability he reminds me of one of my all-time favourites with that dogged determination – Yvon Lambert
Feel like too much being made over Jarvis deal. They saved a little under 500k in cap space. Wouldn’t make any sense for Oilers stars to do a 40 year deferment. The interest on the money they could make now over 40 years? And my biggest question would be what if players want to keep playing? Will Carolina be liable for a cap hit when 8 years is up?
it’s my understanding that the remaining money to be paid, after the 8th year of Jarvis’ contract are paid as a bonus on July 1st (technically the 9th year), and therefore won’t count against the Canes cap in that 9th year. That’s what makes the Jarvis deal so interesting, kind of cap circumvention that is technically allowed in the current CBA
I thought I saw somewhere that the deferred salary counts as a future cap hit. Lyle, can you confirm?
Hi Ed
No Cap hit after the 8 years; but they take those “post” contract deferrals and have s formula in place to see what their current present value is; add that amount what is actually paid in the 8 years; take that total and divide by 8 for Cap hit
I believe the total was $63.2 M (so AAV of $7.9 M) with actual cap hit of $7.42
I believe deferred amounts were about $15 M ; so approx. $48 M actually paid out in first 8 years (that’s $6M) AAV)
$1.42 M ($7.42-$6M ) * 8= $11.36 M; so deferral discount in the $3.6 M range (approx . $15 M in deferred payments less approx. $11.36 M deemed as Present value )
No player will take it over 40 years; but any deferral at all past contract term; lowers Cap hit
No way would I defer money over 40 years. A lot of things can happen especially in a small market team in canada. Once all the desirable us markets are added by expansion is it passable teams like Winnipeg and Edmonton may be at risk of being eliminated. Likely not but I wouldn’t bet $30M of my own money on it.
Jeff, I wouldn’t defer for 40 yrs either, but not because I was worried about franchises shutting down. But for the reasons Slick mentioned.
Edmonton was top 10 in revenue last year. I believe #8. Owner is worth billions.
Not the team I would be worried about.
Also, if the owner shuts down, sells or moves the team, I would be shocked if that clause was not included in the deal.
David Thompson, who is the co-owner of the Winnipeg Jets, is not only the wealthiest owner in the NHL, he is the 4th wealthiest franchise owner in the world. So, soccer basketball, NFL etc. Players will get their money, unless their agents are morons, which I doubt.
Just heard on the radio, Draisaitl signed for 8 yrs, $114M. So a little over $14M.
Left a little bit on the table.
Good deal
https://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Sean-Maloughney/Leon-Draisaitl-Signs-8-Year-Extension/261/126079
Ray, just saw on X (twitter). Nothing about deferred payments.
Not surprised Slick, I wouldn’t agree to that either, unless the totals for the contract were way higher, and the tax benefits higher. What Jarvis did was only deferred for a year, the way it was explained above.
Leon took a bit less than he could have gotten IMO.
This signing gives me every realistic hope now that McDavid will also extend.
People keep claiming that these great players don’t want to be in these markets and yet… Edmonton and Winnipeg and Ottawa seem to have little trouble getting players locked up for long terms.
I don’t think he left money on the table. He’s getting higher AAV than Matthews and is now highest paid player. At least until McDavid extends next year. Good deal for both sides.
I think he left a bit ($500-$750K) on the table Howard. because of the term and what he could have got as an UFA. IMO somebody pays him more starting next season. Methinks it starts with a 15.
After this season, when Draisaitl’s kicks in, will be for 8 more years. Matthews is only for 3 more after this season.
I think most folks would think the cap will be way more for those remaining 5 years, and Matthews will also earn more $$ on his next deal than he is today. You could make an argument Draisaitl has been a better player than Matthews, you could also make an argument that Matthews has been a better player than Draisaitl. Kind of a coin flip on that one.
Oil needed to sign him to keep the window open, they did. Onto Bouchard, then McDavid.
I can definitely see the Oilers doing the Jarvis structure for Draisaitl and subsequently McDavid.
Personally , I want the money now.
I guess Katz is not going anywhere but 9 years is a long time as it relates to business . No one saw Covid coming .
That deferred salary option screams cap circumvention to me. Even if allowed. Is there a rational of having it in the CBA for a reason other than reducing the cap hit received.
Jeff, deferred payments could be part of a tax planning strategy for players who are close to retirement, especially if they do not expect to earn a high salary in the immediate post NHL years. A player with a young family could decide to take a few years away from the game to spend time with his wife and kids.
Tou guys should stop complaining about smart GMs and agents doing their jobs in the best interest of their team and client.
Ingenuity is “cap circumvention” according to some of you.
It’s obviously legal and your whining is pointless.
Blackngold, yesterday you postulated on the Penguins having 8 20-something players on their roster if Dubas could land Nick Robertson in a deal, to go along with Drew O’Connor, Anthony Beauvillier, Rutger McGroarty, Blake Lizotte, Cody Glass, Michael Bunting and Vasily Ponomarev. Going by PuckPedia (which, of course, will look different when training camps end) there are also Valteri Puustinen, Ryan Graves, Marcus Pettersson, Ryan Shea, Sebastien Aho, Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic. But in terms of possibility, the number is 14 and could reach 15 if they could get Robertson.
While that much “youth” may sound promising in terms of team speed, to this point many are just names who haven’t really proved anything at the NHL level and it has to be kept in mind that that also applies to the other 31 teams. In that regard, Pittsburgh is somewhere in the middle of the pack:
From most to least: Buffalo 21; Utah & Montreal 19 each; Colorado 18; Calgary, Boston, Vegas, Vancouver, Florida 17 each; Philadelphia and San Jose 16 each; Ottawa, L.A., Columbus, Winnipeg and Carolina 15 each; Tampa, Minnesota, Toronto, Anaheim, New Jersey & Pittsburgh 14 each; NYI & Detroit 13 each; NYR, Seattle & Chicago 12 each; Nashville & Dallas 11 each; Edmonton 7.
But as I say, that could look very different in many cases come opening day.
A young team , building is full of 25y/o and under and that paints a different picture.
A team like Pittsburgh has 3 , Colorado has 5 while teams like Utah, Montreal , Ottawa have 10+, read into it what you all like.
Great money for Draisaitl, but he does turn 29 shortly after the season starts. It may not end well with that salary down the road, but I also realize now is the time for them to win the cup. It’s hard to imagine how they will get Bouchard, McDavid and Skinner all signed in the next two years. You can throw Jeff Skinner in there as well if he has a big year.
Like I said before, I can’t see any way Bouchard takes less than what Nurse is making.
Drai may be worth $14M a season but how do the Oilers ice a competitive team when they’re going to be paying 4 players $50M of the cap? This isn’t basketball…
Ask the TML!