Draisaitl (8 years/$8.5 mil per) vs. Pastrnak (6 years/$6.667 mil per)

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Pasta played on the same line as Brad Marchand...not exactly a scrub

Compared to McDavid yeah he is

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Compared to McDavid yeah he is

85 points and 4th in scoring is a "scrub" now?

what does that make a guy like Matthews? a 4th line grinder?

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

85 points and 4th in scoring is a "scrub" now?

what does that make a guy like Matthews? a 4th line grinder?

Do you really not grasp the concept that McDavid is more of a gifted offensive player than Brad Marchand?

 

[lawrence]

Pasta played on the same line as Brad Marchand...not exactly a scrub

that is true, but you have to understand my stance, we never had a 8.5 million dollar player, the Sedins at 7 million dollars took em 13 seasons to earn.

Not slamming Drai btw. tbh I even think Pasta is paid too much.

 

[karnige]

85 points and 4th in scoring is a "scrub" now?

what does that make a guy like Matthews? a 4th line grinder?

yeah but to be fair mcdavid generates so much the defense are on their heels and focus a lot of energy towards him. drai is definitely not the focal point which helps him so much

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Do you really not grasp the concept that McDavid is more of a gifted offensive player than Brad Marchand?

of course he is

but do you not grasp the concept that Pasternak played on a line with the 4th leading scorer in the NHL last year?
what does comparing the two players prove?

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

of course he is

but do you not grasp the concept that Pasternak played on a line with the 4th leading scorer in the NHL last year?
what does comparing the two players prove?

It proves that even as good as Pasta's linemate was, Draisaitl's was better. That's it. Did Marchand and Bergeron help Pastrnak have a better season? Probably. Did McDavid help Draisaitl even more? Possibly

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

that is true, but you have to understand my stance, we never had a 8.5 million dollar player, the Sedins at 7 million dollars took em 13 seasons to earn.

Not slamming Drai btw. tbh I even think Pasta is paid too much.

so you paid the Sedins for past accomplishments

I least the Oilers are getting him in his prime

yeah but to be fair mcdavid generates so much the defense are on their heels and focus a lot of energy towards him. drai is definitely not the focal point which helps him so much

well whatever, I don't care the reasons why he produces, just as long as he continues to produces

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

It proves that even as good as Pasta's linemate was, Draisaitl's was better. That's it. Did Marchand and Bergeron help Pastrnak have a better season? Probably. Did McDavid help Draisaitl even more? Possibly

and he had more points to reflect that...your point?

Pasterak still fed off the 4th leading scorer in the NHL

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

and he had more points to reflect that...your point?

Pasterak still fed off the 4th leading scorer in the NHL

Cool, I addressed this in my very next sentence. Idk what your aversion is to conceding that McDavid may be a better linemate than Marchand and therefore may have helped Draisaitl to a higher degree

 

[Mr Positive]

McDavid+Maroon is better than Bergeron+Marchand, but Maroon does bring down that gap enough for it not to be a chasm. The Bruins pair that played with Pastrnak are two of the best players in their division. If you want to label any player as a product of McDavid, it's Maroon, not Draisaitl. I can honestly say that of all the players I've seen playing with McDavid, those two are the most mutually complementary

At any rate I'm eager to see how this plays out this season. They will be trying Draisaitl at center to start the season so he will get the chance to establish himself in the role.

 

[snipes]

Drai. Better player, more versatile.

 

[Jenkins]

The centre

 

[2023FriendshipTour]

Cool, I addressed this in my very next sentence. Idk what your aversion is to conceding that McDavid may be a better linemate than Marchand and therefore may have helped Draisaitl to a higher degree

Hey! Stop using logic.

 

[TheDoldrums]

 

[Ninety7]

Cool, I addressed this in my very next sentence. Idk what your aversion is to conceding that McDavid may be a better linemate than Marchand and therefore may have helped Draisaitl to a higher degree

If drai can score 70+ on mcdavids wing consistently then who the hell cares?

You keep him there if it works and wins you games, plain and simple.

 

[BruinLVGA]

Eric Gryba has lower term and lower cap hit than Johnny Hockey. Which would you prefer on your team?

Come on... context dude, context. Pastrnak @ 0.933 ppg vs Draisaitl @ 0.939 ppg =/= Gryba & his career high 12 points vs Gaudreau who has already almost gone ppg (78 points). Not the same kind of example, at all.

Draisaitl is a very fine player who was extended at a very significant amount (full price for sure), Pastrnak is also a very fine player who was extended at a much less amount (21.5% less, not a small difference).
So much so, that for Pastrnak to equal the amount of money that the Oilers gave more to Draisaitl in those two extra years they purchased, Pastrnak would have to come in at $14m per season (6y/40m vs 8y/68m. Difference of $28m for those two extra years).

It's no shame extending a great player. Both the Oilers and the Bruins did that. It's also no shame if one team was able to get a much (cap) friendlier deal. It boils down to the GM's negotiating ability. Chiarelli doesn't seem to be outstanding in that. That's all. Enjoy Draisaitl, we'll enjoy Pastrnak.

PS: one thing that people don't talk about is the bonus thing. Pastrnak's contract is so structured that if there's a lock out in 4 years, he only gets $1m that year. Compare that to some monstrous bonus-laden contracts of late, and the difference is striking.

 

[Brock Radunske]

I think Drai is a slightly more valuable player but the almost $2 mil of savings on the Pasta deal tips it in his favour for me.

 

[BruinLVGA]

It proves that even as good as Pasta's linemate was, Draisaitl's was better. That's it. Did Marchand and Bergeron help Pastrnak have a better season? Probably. Did McDavid help Draisaitl even more? Possibly

To be fair, Pastrnak was the one driving that line, more than Marchand. He had a torrid pace for a very long stretch when he was close to a GOAL per game.
Bergeron, who played the whole year with a sports hernia courtesy of the World Cup of Hockey (grrrr), had something like 15 points or so in the first half of the season. Once he got better (if I remember he went ppg for the second half of the season), Pastrnak was moved with Krejci to help kick start David and to make the Bruins into a serious two line punch team. It didn't really work because Krejci wasn't healthy and the other winger in the line was always of a much lower quality than Pastrnak, but at least Marchand stayed white hot and Bergeron did too.
Had Pastrnak stayed with Bergeron Marchand the WHOLE season, I think that he would have been up there with Marchand's totals. Ask Ottawa fans how they felt when that line - Pastrnak-Bergeron-Marchand - was reunited in the playoffs...

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

If drai can score 70+ on mcdavids wing consistently then who the hell cares?

You keep him there if it works and wins you games, plain and simple.

Because first of all, then you can't say "oh Drai is a center who drives his own line" as a reason to pick Draisaitl. It also means he might not be worth the extra 2M if he is a passenger on a line.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

To be fair, Pastrnak was the one driving that line, more than Marchand. He had a torrid pace for a very long stretch when he was close to a GOAL per game.
Bergeron, who played the whole year with a sports hernia courtesy of the World Cup of Hockey (grrrr), had something like 15 points or so in the first half of the season. Once he got better (if I remember he went ppg for the second half of the season), Pastrnak was moved with Krejci to help kick start David and to make the Bruins into a serious two line punch team. It didn't really work because Krejci wasn't healthy and the other winger in the line was always of a much lower quality than Pastrnak, but at least Marchand stayed white hot and Bergeron did too.
Had Pastrnak stayed with Bergeron Marchand the WHOLE season, I think that he would have been up there with Marchand's totals. Ask Ottawa fans how they felt when that line - Pastrnak-Bergeron-Marchand - was reunited in the playoffs...

Yeah I think this is a good point, although I believe Marchand and Bergeron's elite defense make it easy for an elite offensive talent like Pastrnak to operate with freedom. I do agree he was a main catalyst behind Boston's offense and the offensive gap between Marchand and Pasta is still smaller than the one between McDavid and Draisaitl

 

[tony d]

Pastrnak. Drai's a better player but give me the guy on a shorter term and lower cap hit who is still a very solid player.

 

[BruinLVGA]

Yeah I think this is a good point, although I believe Marchand and Bergeron's elite defense make it easy for an elite offensive talent like Pastrnak to operate with freedom. I do agree he was a main catalyst behind Boston's offense and the offensive gap between Marchand and Pasta is still smaller than the one between McDavid and Draisaitl

Very solid post.
One thing I would like to add is that indeed playing with Marchand and Bergeron is a great bonus, but there's also to consider that it's the line that gets me toughest match ups.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Cool, I addressed this in my very next sentence. Idk what your aversion is to conceding that McDavid may be a better linemate than Marchand and therefore may have helped Draisaitl to a higher degree

I already said he was

but calling a 85-point scorer Marchand a "scrub" hurts your credibility

both Pasta and Drai played with high-scoring teammates...is McDavid better? of course...did Draisaitl benefit more? who knows

 

[Hockeyholic]

Draisatly isn't " Better" enough to factor out that ridiculous contract. Pastrnak ainec.