Edmonton Oilers stars held meeting after the season to make a pact

According to a recent report from the 2 Mutts Hockey Podcast, who have recently broke several Oilers stories accurately, the Oilers core players met to make sure they'll take discounts on their contracts so the team can remain competitive while they get paid.

Multiple veteran depth players have declined more money from other teams to remain with the Oilers for the best chance to win, including Adam Henrique, Mattias Janmark, Connor Brown, and of course, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. If more players can commit to this attitude, the team will be able to stay together and form the deepest roster so far in the McDavid era. This pact is incredibly encouraging to hear about, and shows the players are aware of roster building in modern hockey, and are willing to do whatever it takes to win.

The first player up will be the superstar Leon Draisaitl, who's an unrestricted after next season. NHL insider Frank Seravalli has reported that the Oilers would like to get the deal done before training camp, but may be moving more slowly than the team anticipated. Draisaitl's already been on a heavily discounted contract the last few seasons, scoring well over 100 points numerous times with only an $8M cap hit. It's a lot to ask for him to take another discount, but every bit matters with the salary cap. The 2 Mutts Podcast however is reporting that Draisaitl will accept a discount, and will sign an 8 year deal for $13.5M a season.

After Leon Draisaitl, the Oilers will soon have to turn their attention to Evan Bouchard, Stuart Skinner, and Connor McDavid for their contract extensions. It will be incredibly expensive to keep this core together, and every dollar is going to be significant in getting the team underneath the cap. Hopefully the salary cap continues to rise in the coming seasons - the Oilers are going to need it after paying a handful of players close to $10M or more.