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Next we have San Jose Mercury News hockey columnist and podcaster Paul Gackle, who notes he’s reluctant to criticize the best player in hockey for trying to maximize his salary, especially in a sport that Gackle sees as having little loyalty to players as it’s owned by faceless corporations only concerned about the profit margin.

But Gackle does see a major downside for the Oilers in McDavid’s new deal. “Here’s the good news if you’re the Edmonton Oilers: you’ve locked the new face of the game in for eight seasons. Obviously when a talent like McDavid lands in Edmonton, you wonder if he’s going to bolt ship the first opportunity he gets. Eight years in Edmonton, that’s a positive development. The bad news it’s going to come at a cost of $13.25 million per year, which could hamper the Oilers ability to re-sign Leon Draisaitl, who is also needs a contract extension this summer, and their ability to surround McDavid with other caliber players in the future.

Photo by Nam Y. Huh / AP

“How will the Oilers be anything other than a top heavy team when they’re committing more than $13 million a year to a single player,” Gackle continued. “Does McDavid not get this? Is he putting his individual interests over what’s best for the team? And now all of a sudden Connor McDavid is becoming the face of greed in the National Hockey League. I was surprised by this decision because we have a culture in this league where superstars tend to take less money to try to help their teams. Steven Stamkos could have bled the free agent market dry last summer. He could have easily hauled in more than $10 million per year. He settled for $8.5 because he knows the Lightning wouldn’t be able to hold onto all that young talent surrounding him if they had given them kind of money. So Stamkos sacrificed a $1.5 or $2 million (per) for a chance to help his team win. Admirable, no doubt about it.”