The Edmonton Oilers are getting ready to play Game 5 against the Vancouver Canucks after tying the series 2-2 on Tuesday (May 14) on a late heroic goal from Evan Bouchard with less than a minute left in the game, winning the game 3-2. With Game 5 coming tonight, both teams are looking to take a stranglehold on the series and put themselves in a position to clinch it in Game 6. Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl has been dominating offensively and continues to be a leader at both ends of the ice as he enters the second-last season of his current contract. With Draisaitl’s contract situation being one of the main topics of conversation heading into the 2024-25 season, one writer cited Jeff Marek and Greg Wyshynski in his recent article, which mentioned that the San Jose Sharks could show interest in him.
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In the article, San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng mentions that while the connection is a stretch, Draisaitl could be interested in the large sum of money that the Sharks could give him, as well as the promising young team they have been building.
What makes this connection mind-boggling is that the Sharks finished dead last this season and are on track to have one of the longest rebuilds in NHL history. They won the draft lottery recently, earning the chance to select top prospect Macklin Celebrini first overall, but they don’t have much else going for them.
Draisaitl is eligible for an extension with the Oilers as of July 1, 2024. While the Oilers will be doing whatever they can to secure his services and bring him back on a long-term deal, it’s no secret that many teams around the NHL will be showing interest in him and watching to see if he isn’t able to come to an agreement with the Oilers. When it comes to the Sharks being a team that could make a run at him, I just don’t see it being even close to a possibility.
Sharks Have No Assets to Trade to Oilers
If the Oilers are under the impression that they’re going to lose Draisaitl to free agency, they will likely look to move him. With that being said, the trade package they could get in return for him would be massive. He is one of the elite players in the NHL and arguably one of the most dominant goalscorers. For any team to have a chance to trade for him, it would take at least several high draft picks, three NHL-ready players, and several high-end prospects. While some teams would have the assets to make that deal, the Sharks don’t have everything they’d want. On top of that, Draisaitl has a 10-team trade list, putting him in charge of where he would be dealt.
The Sharks have a strong prospect pool already as well as high draft picks, so they have nothing to worry about as far as that goes. However, they don’t have any NHL-ready players that would be of interest to the Oilers. They will still be trying to remain competitive moving forward, so a Draisaitl trade would have to bring back players who can still help them win, and the Sharks don’t have any right now.
I understand the connection that Peng made between Draisaitl and the Sharks’ German owner, and it also makes sense that Klim Kostin is someone Draisaitl could have an interest in playing with again. But realistically, those two things are not enough to suggest that the Sharks would be a real player in the Draisaitl sweepstakes. Yes, the Sharks are building for a strong future and will likely have a competitive team in three seasons, but Draisaitl likely won’t want to sit through a rebuild; he will want to win.
The Oilers are hoping they can sign Draisaitl to an extension before he enters free agency following the 2024-25 season. He currently leads the NHL in playoff scoring with 20 points and is showing no signs of slowing down. Hopefully, the Oilers can make a deep run this postseason, prove they can remain competitive, and keep Draisaitl in Edmonton.
