Insider reports full terms of Leon Draisaitl contract extension with Oilers

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Liam McCormick
August 26, 2024 (11:52)

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The last bit of business of the Edmonton Oilers this offseason is re-signing Leon Draisaitl, and new reports suggest it'll happen sooner rather than later.

The Two Mutts Hockey Podcast is reporting that Leon Draisaitl will sign an 8 year contract extension with the Oilers at a discounted rate of $13.5M. Draisaitl will be arriving in Edmonton shortly, and a deal could be completed by then.

»This should not be a problem, this deal should get done . . . What we've been told a couple weeks ago from the sources that we spoke to, it's gonna be an 8 year deal and it's gonna be $13.5M. Leon Draisaitl's taking a discount to stay in Edmonton.

I know he's coming to Edmonton pretty quick here, if not he'll be here this week. He'll be skating with some of the guys and then the Captains skate will be pretty soon after that . . . So we'll see where that goes.»

The Two Mutts Podcast is relatively new, but has been accurately breaking pieces of Oilers news. The Podcast was the first to report the hiring of Stan Bowman and the trade to send Cody Ceci to the San Jose Sharks.

Other reports suggested he could command up to $14M in free agency, so taking off $500K is significant for a team friendly deal. It's a great sign for the core of the team to be willing to take discounts to win, and it's part of the reason why the Oilers couldn't justify matching the offer sheets to overpay two relatively unproven young players. In all likelihood, the offer sheet situation and general summer life is the only reason the contract with Leon Draisaitl isn't officially signed yet.

Hopefully with Leon Draisaitl coming to town in the next week, both sides sit down and are able to finalize a deal to make him a lifelong Oiler before the season begins. If they're able to keep this core together they'll always be in contention for the Stanley Cup, especially if they take slight discounts.