The Oilers Extend Draisaitl With the Richest Deal in NHL History

🔒 LEON’S LOCKED IN 🔒

The #Oilers have signed forward Leon Draisaitl to an eight-year contract extension beginning in 2025-26 with an average annual value of $14 million. pic.twitter.com/wERUyneHA7

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 3, 2024

Worth the Money

Edmonton is the home of arguably the greatest NHL player who ever graced the ice, Wayne Gretzky. And although the world may never see another of his ilk, the Oilers currently have two offensive superstars in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, with the latter being lavished with a $14 million per annum deal over the next eight seasons, according to recent reports.

The NHL rumors began to heat up on Monday night when the 2 Mutts Podcast broke the story with this: “We are hearing that Leon Draisaitl could sign as early as tomorrow, there’s a possibility it could come in around 8 years/$14M AAV. Originally, we thought it could be around $13.5M AAV as we know things change & everything we are hearing is that this deal should get done this week. Let’s see how this all plays out.”

Legendary company for Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid 👏 pic.twitter.com/iditRzag6a

— ESPN (@espn) May 24, 2024

It turns out that the report was completely accurate, and Leon Draisaitl’s stats reveal he is well worth the lofty price tag. Since entering the league in the 2014-2015 season and after 719 NHL games, he is third in points behind teammate Connor McDavid (982) and Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov (855), while ranked second in power-play goals, trailing only Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals.

Historic Day

Locking up a superstar for $112 million and keeping him in the home jersey will pay immediate dividends, but the long-term salary cap impact will also be an enormous obstacle to overcome with so many other big salaries on the team and those waiting to get paid.

However, that discussion is for another day, as Oilers General Manager Stan Bowman took a moment to crow about his latest signing.

“This is a historic day for the Edmonton Oilers,” said Bowman. “Leon’s commitment to our team, our city, and Oilers fans everywhere cannot be overstated. His desire to help bring a Stanley Cup title home to Edmonton is central to everything he does both on and off the ice.”

There was little dissent by the hockey pundits, who universally lauded the deal.

GOAL NO. 4 IN GAME 1 💰

Leon Draisaitl is a certified scoring machine 🦾 pic.twitter.com/3aQxRrdbsa

— ESPN (@espn) May 4, 2023

Spittin’ Chiclets commentator Ryan Whitney said, “Leon Draisaitl ain’t going anywhere. What a morning in Oil Country. Elliotte reported 8 years of around 14 million per and this means Connor will be an Oiler for life as well. The parade in downtown Edmonton will be stuff of legends.”

The Cult of Hockey’s Kurt Leavins posted: “When Draisaitl signed his existing deal, I commented “finally, the Oilers are holding onto their best players” & was attacked by many for applauding “such a bad contract”. Where are they now? Edmonton once again proves it has become a magnet for elite players.”

Leon Draisaitl is in elite company 🤩 pic.twitter.com/F00tDdExbY

— ESPN (@espn) May 4, 2023

And for all the feel-good responses, there was a sobering dose of reality coming from Daily Faceoff writer Steven Ellis, who wrote, “So, what is Connor McDavid going to get on his next deal?”

McDavid has two years left on his deal at a $12.5 million cap hit running through the 2025-2026 season.