[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by chopper89

I'm not too down on it, as it is almost exactly the same game the Flames played with Johnny Gaudreau last year.

They took a gamble by paying up, based on a pretty small sample size. Gaudreau had one more point in 2015-2016 (78) than Draisaitl had in 2016-2017, but both players turned that great season into long-term lucrative deals. I get JG didn't have McDavid on his line, etc. but the gamble is similar by both clubs.

Drai signed for almost $2MM more, but admittedly, is a big centerman (which usually demand a premium), has shown he can play with their franchise cornerstone, and as much as it hurts- showed himself a lot better in his limited playoff time than JG did.

So while it could blow up on Edmonton (and as a Flames fan, I'm obviously sorta hoping it does!), I think the deal makes sense for them as a valid gamble and is pretty much in line with recent deals done by others, here and elsewhere. Too early to call yet.

Johnny had two really good seasons under his belt when he signed. He also had 9 points in 11 playoff games prior to signing. The Draisatl comparison is not relevant