Which NHL Players Would Be Worth A Juan Soto-Style 15-Year Contract?

The baseball world had big-time news last week when star slugger Juan Soto signed a 15-year, $765-million deal that set a new bar in the MLB. That raises the question – in a fantasy world, what NHL players would be so promising and elite enough for their team to want to give them a 15-year deal?

For those who don't know or need a refresher, the NHL’s current labor deal limits the contract term for re-signing any pending free agent to eight years and signing a UFA to seven years. It's possible the NHL will try to lower that maximum in the next collective bargaining agreement as well.

But just to be hypothetical and imagine the chance to sign a superstar to one contract that covers the majority of their career is possible, let's scrap that rule for this exercise.

Eight-year contracts are already big calculated risks in a player's development and continued performance. But some players have shown enough promise and durability to be worth taking an even bigger risk to sign for almost twice as long, even if the money would be nowhere remotely close to Soto's total contract value.

Here are three NHL players in particular we believe teams would want to sign for a decade-and-a-half:

1. Connor McDavid, C, Edmonton Oilers

McDavid is a generational player in the NHL. Having him under contract as long as possible should always be the goal of his team, even if it means opening the vault and signing him to a deal that takes him to an age most players are retired by, let alone a forward.

McDavid is currently 27 years old, meaning he’d be 42 at the end of a 15-year contract if he were to sign one right now hypothetically – he still has two seasons left on his actual contract. But if the Oilers came to McDavid with a 15-year deal, and the money part was right so that it'd still be a lot of value by the end of the contract, would McDavid say ‘yes’ to the offer? We suspect he would.

Financial security is a positive thing for any NHLer, and if McDavid knew he wouldn’t have to worry about his workplace home until 2040, there’s every reason to believe he’d agree to the security of a 15-year deal.

So long as McDavid knew he’d be one of the highest-paid players – if not the highest-paid player – for the life of the contract, he’d happily sign the 15-year contract and focus only on playing. He’ll be a Hart Trophy candidate for quite some time, and he could also be the guy who steers his team to multiple Stanley Cups. He could even become the second player in NHL history to get to 2,000 points before the end of that deal. That’s why you invest this much time and money in McDavid.

Related: Oilers' McDavid Hits 1,000-Point Mark: NHL Superstar Continues To Add To Legacy

2. Connor Bedard, C, Chicago Blackhawks

Bedard is the youngest player on this list, as he’s only 19 years old. That would mean he’d be 34 at the end of his contract – still on the other side of his prime, but it would be a big push to ensure he is protected and playing for the team that drafted him throughout the best years of his career.

Now, there are some who might argue Bedard may want to go home to Vancouver at some point in his career, but there are still a few seasons after a 15-year deal is done for Bedard to become a Canuck.

Of course, Canucks fans would prefer to have Bedard in his prime, but there’s no question the Blackhawks would aim to have Bedard in Chicago for as long as he chooses to play. He's already shown he can be a top scorer for his club, and even with 21 points in 28 games being a bit below expectations this season, the sample size is growing proof he can be one of the game's top stars for a long time. The Blackhawks can try to pay for what he can become, which is often the case for any club that signs their RFAs to seven- or eight-year deals.

If the Hawks stepped up with enough money, and if Chicago management surrounded Bedard with enough high-end talent – we could easily see him staying in the Windy City for most of, if not all of his NHL days.

Related: Opinion: What's Wrong With Connor Bedard Right Now? The Blackhawks Around Him

3. Cale Makar, D, Colorado Avalanche

The 26-year-old Makar already has a Stanley Cup championship, a Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman, and a Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. What more would there be to prove that he's worth a 15-year contract?

Makar may lose some speed throughout 15 years, but many defensemen have proven to play into their forties, and surely Avalanche fans wouldn't worry about the final few years of that type of contract. He’s a foundational talent just like Bedard and McDavid, but he’s got a championship pedigree that the other two players on this list don’t have, and he'll continue to be a crafty blueliner.

For that reason, we could see Makar easily jump at a 15-year contract offer. It would obviously be a huge investment for Colorado ownership and management. But that investment likely would help the Avalanche to more Cups, and Makar could secure his future with a gigantic amount of money and a team that is all-in as a Cup front-runner for the foreseeable future.

Get the latest news and trending stories right to your inbox by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or by visiting our forum.