The Edmonton Oilers have big news. Today it was announced that superstar centre Leon Draisaitl has re-signed a contract extension. A while ago, it was made clear by Draisaitl’s camp, that they had been under the impression that the German centre had been giving the Oilers a discount. Now it was time for him to be paid. And with this contract, being paid, is something he will be going forward. The contract is for eight years and carries an AAV of $14 million.
Over the collection of work from his arrival in the league, and definitely for the past five seasons, you could easily say Draisaitl has been the second-best player in the world. Now, Nikita Kucherov and his two Stanley Cups would have something to say about that title. However, if there was an award to be handed out for being the second-best player in the world, Draisaitl would certainly be in the conversation.
Leon Draisaitl's eight-year extension with the #oilers carries a $14M AAV — setting him up to become the NHL's highest-paid player when the deal kicks in next season.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) September 3, 2024
The Edmonton Oilers Have Signed Leon Draisaitl to a Contract Extension
Part of what makes Draisaitl such a great complement to the other Oilers superstar, Connor McDavid, is his complete set of skills. According to the NHL.com, Draisaitl finished fourth in the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs with 76 speed bursts of 20 mph-plus. In case you’re curious, 97 led the league with 154. Furthermore, over his career, Draisaitl has a 18.2 shooting %, a 52.9 faceoff %, and has played 20:29 a night.
Draisaitl did take a couple years in the league before he reached his current level of perennial point production. However, once he hit it, he has been rather unstoppable. Besides finishing seventh in league scoring in 2023-24, between 2018-19 and 2022-23, he had finished no worse than fourth in league scoring. Let’s not forget his exceptional 2019-20 Hart Trophy winning campaign as league’s MVP. He also captured his one and only Art Ross Trophy for the NHL’s regular season scoring lead. We all remember constant reminders once the playoffs roll around of Draisaitl’s standing in playoff points-per-game, where his 1.46 puts him one spot behind McDavid for third all-time (with a minimum of 40 games played).
Points since and including 2018-19 season
- McDavid – 436 GP – 726 Pts
- Draisaitl – 450 GP – 643 Pts
- MacKinnon – 417 GP – 596 Pts
- Panarin – 429 GP – 548 Pts
- Kucherov – 360 GP – 539 Pts
Playoff points since 2017
- Kucherov – 102 GP – 125 Pts
- McDavid – 74 GP – 117 Pts
- Draisaitl – 74 GP – 108 Pts
As the Stanley Cup Finals Begin, Edmonton Oiler Players Chasing History
What Does it Mean for Edmonton
Keeping Draisaitl around is exclamation mark on supplanting the Oilers amongst the league’s great teams. When it comes down to scoring records, the current Oilers are in the midst of a historic stretch. Furthermore, if they can add post-season success, by way of Stanley Cup rings to their trophy case, the team would be firmly entrenched into the status of dynasty.
Main photo credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
