To the great irritation of a certain segment of Edmonton Oilers fans, news about the team lately has tended to be packaged in Toronto as “but what does this mean for the Maple Leafs?”



There’s a reason for this, of course: The teams are similar in terms of having some high-end young talent. When Connor McDavid signed his massive extension, Toronto minds turned towards Auston Matthews. Now that Leon Draisaitl has signed his eight-year contract with an average annual value of $8.5-million, it’s only natural to wonder what it means for Mitch Marner and William Nylander.



The answer, I think, is that it becomes more likely that they end up signing bridge contracts. And that is a smart move for the Leafs.



The reason these questions are coming up is these contracts have both represented high-water marks for players coming off entry-level contracts. The Leafs have a few young players who would presumably like to make a lot of money, and...