Major obstacle in Draisaitl contract negotiations

There probably wasn't anyone outside of Nashville who was watching Ryan Johansen's contract negotiations as closely as Leon Draisaitl in Edmonton, except perhaps his agent.

Three years separate the two players, Johansen celebrates his new 8-year, $8-million contract as a 24-year-old, Draisaitl is working on his new contract at age 21. Draisaitl's entry-level contract is up, and the RFA is likely looking for a deal similar to Johansen's contract.

There is one major factor that could get in the way of that from happening however and it'st he fact that Draisaitl is still a restricted free agent.

The two players have similar skillets and so far their careers seem to be following roughly the same trajectories. Both had breakout years going into their RFA negotiations, and both have proven to be major scoring assets for their clubs. There are enough similarities between the two that some believe Johansen's contract means an instant and significant raise for Draisaitl is due, but it's more complicated than that.

As Johansen knows full well, the big money doesn't really come until your years as a restricted free agent are done. So Draisaitl will likely have to wait for a bit, but he still stands to make a fair living off his next contract.

If we're still using Johansen as the measuring stick, the Swedish forward's second contract was worth $12-million over three seasons. That's far more likely the ballpark Draisaitl should be in when negotiating with the Oilers.

If that kind of bridge deal doesn't sound appealing to Draisaitl, he may start looking for a way out of Edmonton. 

Edmonton's 2014 first-round pick just had a season where he managed to light the lamp 29 times in 82 games for 77 points. He missed the 20-goal mark the season before by a single goal. He could very well earn more than Johansen did on his second deal, or at least that's the how Draisaitl's agent is likely to try and spin it.

If Edmonton doesn't want to shell out big for the young star's services, they may look to ship him out. That being said, playing with McDavid and the success that automatically entails for any of his linemates could very well be enough to convince Draisaitl to take a significant pay cut, at least until he has the chance to hit the market as a UFA.