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The Edmonton Oilers are going to be in for a major cap crunch in the next few seasons when re-signing star players, but one analyst is warning they could repeat the mistake of Darnell Nurse's contract.
Evan Bouchard will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season, and unrestricted the year after. Right now, reports are indicating that Bouchard will be seeking $10-11M in salary. Oilers analyst Jonathan Willis claims that would be a major overpayment, just like they did with Nurse.
Bouchard had an incredible breakout season last year with 18 goals and 82 points. He has clear offensive talent, but Willis claims his point totals can't be trusted because of how much time he plays with Connor McDavid. The Oilers played Darnell Nurse the most with McDavid on the ice in his contract year too, and it resulted in a major overpay to Nurse of $9.25M. Willis' graph evidence of the Oilers goal differential with and without Nurse is damning proof of the effective McDavid had on his career.
To reduce Bouchard's upcoming contract value and to get more out of Darnell Nurse, Jonathan Willis proposes that the Oilers totally change their defensive game plan. Playing Nurse on the ice with McDavid more could vastly improve the defenceman's results, and won't put Bouchard in the best possible position to demand one of the highest defenceman salaries in the NHL.
Willis also expanded that Nurse had the best results of his career with defenceman Adam Larsson as his partner, and that's should influence what defender the Oilers acquire in trade this year.
The Edmonton Oilers have enough cap space trouble paying Darnell Nurse $9.25M to pay another defenceman a double digit salary, while also giving raises to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Hopefully the salary cap takes a major spike, because the Oilers are going to need every dollar of room.
More must-reads:
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Top Prospect Could Force Canadiens Hand at Training Camp
David Reinbacher impressed Montreal Canadiens management enough for general manager Kent Hughes to deal fellow right defense prospect Logan Mailloux to the St. Louis Blues for sophomore forward Zachary Bolduc. Because of his ability to shut down the rush, cut off checkers at the blueline and then spring a pass or use his feet to skate his way out of trouble consistently, the six-foot-four Austrian defender (despite limited experience on North American ice) has many believers. The idea that Reinbacher and Ivan Demidov could play out their Calder seasons together in 2025-26 doesn't seem so far-fetched, because Reinbacher emerged as the Laval Rocket's top dog on defense, during his first taste of American Hockey League playoff hockey. For the fans that enjoy Kaiden Guhle's responsible style of hockey, and ability to scan and react, breaking potential oddman rushes, thanks to great anticipation, foot speed and defensive details, Reinbacher displays many of those tools. You could argue that Reinbacher has a much higher offensive upside, but in any world where both are playing in your top four defense, as a head coach, you would feel incredibly spoiled with riches. The pair are 23 and 20 years old respectively, so there is significant development leash ahead. There is a very good argument to be made that while Reinbacher looked like an NHL player during the AHL playoffs, he has played just 21 games of North American regular-season professional hockey under his belt, so further seasoning isn't going to overcook the prospect, but ensure he is ready when he makes the jump. However, there are exceptions, and if Reinbacher can follow up his brilliant playoff debut with the Rocket, where he registered six points in 13 games, and emerged as an all-situations defenseman, that head coach Pascal Vincent leaned on for big and important minutes, with a great training camp in the fall, he could put himself on the fast track to the big league. Reinbacher has tremendous upside, and is still learning to use his big frame to punish opponents along the boards and in front of the net, but once he integrates some added physicality and some daring offensive sequences into his game with more regularity, he could put himself and the Canadiens blueline in a great spot to accelerate their rebuild exponentially in 2025-26. The playoffs are the standard for the Canadiens now, regardless of what the media might say, and it wouldn't be wise to suggest to any of the players that the team will regress and achieve anything less than another playoff berth next season. Montreal's 2023 fifth overall selection is hoping to earn his stripes and help push the team beyond the first round, and perhaps further in the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Orioles, Blue Jays pull off unique trade midway through doubleheader
The Toronto Blue Jays have acquired one of baseball's premier relievers to bolster their bullpen. In a trade with the Baltimore Orioles, Toronto is adding Seranthony Dominguez to its pitching staff, according to MLB.com's Keegan Matheson. While the move solidifies the Blue Jays' status as buyers, it's the timing of the transaction that stands out. The Orioles finished a 16-4 walloping of the Blue Jays just hours before the deal went down, and while it's not unheard of to see a player traded to a franchise his former team is visiting, the fact that the two teams will face off again Tuesday night at 6:35 PM EST makes this a truly unique swap. Dominguez may not suit up in his first official contest as a Blue Jay, but he will be switching clubhouses before the second half of the team's doubleheader. It won't take long for the veteran reliever to make an impact, either, as bullpen production has stood out for a Toronto team that has been dominating in most aspects of the game. In 43 appearances with the Orioles this season, Dominguez has posted a respectable 3.24 ERA over 41.2 innings. He hasn't quite returned to the impressive form he was in with the Phillies from 2018 to 2022, but the value is obvious for a team hoping to capture its third World Series in franchise history. The rebuilding Orioles acquired right-handed pitching prospect Juaron Watts-Brown, who was ranked as Toronto's 10th-best prospect in the latest MLB Pipeline team Top 30 Prospects list. The 23-year-old has gone 2-5 over 19 starts across High-A and Double-A this year, posting a combined 3.54 ERA while striking out 115 over 89 innings. As two teams heading in vastly different directions this season, it's a sensible move for both sides. Dominguez is an unrestricted free agent after this season, making him a rental for Toronto down the stretch. If Watts-Brown continues to show promise, though, the trade could ultimately be deemed a win for Baltimore.
NFL analyst says teams should be 'extremely scared' of this franchise in 2025
While the Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders have garnered a lot of attention lately, there is one NFC team that has quietly been flying under the radar. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost a one-score game to the Lions in the divisional round in 2023 and followed that up with another one-score loss to QB Jayden Daniels and the Commanders last season, proving how close they have been to the ultimate prize in the two seasons with Baker Mayfield under center. In an appearance on ESPN's "Get Up" Tuesday morning, analyst and former player Ryan Clark offered high praise for Mayfield and what the Buccaneers are capable of. "Baker Mayfield is a top-10 quarterback in this league," Clark said. "Baker Mayfield is a football player. And when I say that, I know people at home are gonna be like, 'Duh, he gets paid to play football.' No, not all quarterbacks are seen as football players. Not all quarterbacks are embraced in the locker room as one of us." Clark sees the Buccaneers as a team the rest of the league should be paying attention to because of who they have returning and the close calls in the playoffs the last two seasons. "This is a team that's been on the cusp the last two years," Clark said. "Now you think about some of the pieces they've added, the confidence in their quarterback and the way that he plays, and Todd Bowles with another year to understand winning at a high level at the head coach position. This is a team you better be extremely scared of because they're stacked and they're confident." Mayfield has been sensational during his time with the Buccaneers. Although he did throw 16 interceptions, Mayfield accounted for the third-most passing yards (4,500) in the league last season and has thrown the most TD passes (69) in the last two seasons, per StatMuse. To add even more incentive for Mayfield, the team restructured his contract, which is set to expire after the 2026 season, to include $30M in guaranteed salary for that season. The Buccaneers return a lot of production on both sides of the ball, in addition to bringing in first-round draft pick Emeka Egbuka, who topped 1,000 receiving yards twice at Ohio State and accounted for 26 total TDs. While Tampa Bay allowed the 17th-most points per game (22.7) last season, it returns the majority of its defensive production. On top of that, the offseason acquisition of veteran LB and two-time Pro-Bowler Haason Reddick, who agreed to terms on a one-year deal, should be a welcomed addition for a franchise that had some question marks on defense last season. The Buccaneers are projected to have the sixth-easiest schedule in the NFL this season and have the best chance to win the NFC South for the fifth consecutive season, according to ESPN Analytics. If Mayfield can cut back on his turnovers and the defense can create more pressure on opposing QBs, the Buccaneers could be a threat in the NFC once again as they look to put their recent nail-biting losses in the postseason behind them.
Commanders reportedly hesitant about one issue with Terry McLaurin deal
The 2024 offseason expanded the $30M-per-year wide receiver club to six members. D.K. Metcalf, Ja’Marr Chase and Garrett Wilson have taken it to nine this year. Terry McLaurin is undoubtedly pushing to bump that number to 10, after seeing 2019 Day 2 classmates Metcalf and A.J. Brown land among that contingent. McLaurin reported to training camp Sunday and landed on the active/PUP list. As our Rory Parks explained, skepticism exists about how injured the Commanders’ top wide receiver really is. An ankle injury has keyed the PUP stay, but it can be safely assumed McLaurin would be ready to practice if an extension comes to pass. Nevertheless, the Commanders have been surprised by the difficulty of these talks. Using an injury to avoid practicing while negotiating — developments the Jonathan Taylor and Micah Parsons sagas brought — represents a third tactic, joining the holdout and the increasingly utilized hold-in amid extension talks. McLaurin shifted from a holdout to the injury route; no matter how he is accomplishing not practicing, the seventh-year veteran is aiming to land a lucrative third contract. His age provides a complication for Washington. McLaurin is going into an age-30 season, separating him from Brown and Metcalf. Both Ole Miss products were drafted just before McLaurin, a 2019 third-round pick, but they are each two years younger. This strengthened their cases for big-ticket third contracts. McLaurin went first to ignite the second-tier boom on the receiver market in 2022, agreeing to a three-year, $69.6M extension. That shaped the Metcalf and Deebo Samuel extensions, both of which coming in higher than McLaurin’s despite the latter’s consistency with suboptimal quarterback situations. McLaurin’s AAV has dropped to 17th at wide receiver. The Commanders are prepared to extend their top wideout, but Sportskeeda.com’s Tony Pauline indicates the "holdup" is regarding the $30M-AAV number. Some around the league point to the team not wanting to go into that neighborhood for McLaurin, despite his five 1,000-yard seasons. Courtland Sutton and McLaurin are nearly the same age, and the Broncos’ top target signed a four-year, $92M extension. That matches where the Titans went for Calvin Ridley (now 30) in 2024. McLaurin, though, has a better resume than both and should be aiming higher. The Commanders have a Jayden Daniels rookie contract to structure another McLaurin extension around as well. Adam Peters was around for the 49ers’ 2022 Samuel extension but not Brandon Aiyuk‘s $30M-per-year deal. (The Samuel extension also did not work out for the 49ers, who proceeded with a salary dump of sorts by trading him to the Commanders.) The second-year GM taking a hardline stance with McLaurin would be an interesting route given the WR’s importance to a sudden contender. Peters confirmed talks are ongoing, with that comment coming after McLaurin expressed frustration about the negotiations. A potential gap between the pack of 20-somethings (and Tyreek Hill) north of $30M AAV and the Tee Higgins–Jaylen Waddle–D.J. Moore tier could be relevant here, and it will be interesting to see if McLaurin settles for something just south of that $30MM benchmark. Guarantees and contract structure, of course, will be important to determining the value as well. A short-term extension should be reached soon, per Pauline, but if the Commanders hold the line at or around $30M, the McLaurin matter could drag on for a while longer.
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