FEATURE: Leon locks in for eight more years in Oil Country

EDMONTON, AB – Leon Draisaitl: Oiler for life. That certainly has a nice ring to it.

For the German superstar, who committed to staying long-term in Oil Country, that and a few Stanley Cup rings by the end of his career – all of which being spent in Edmonton – would be the best-case scenario.

On Tuesday, Draisaitl spoke with conviction during his media availability with Oilers GM & Executive VP of Hockey Operations Stan Bowman about his decision to sign an eight-year contract extension with the club that will keep him in an Oilers uniform until 2033, with his new deal set to make him the NHL’s highest-paid player ($14 million AAV) when it kicks in next summer on July 1, 2025.

“I'd like to thank the Katz family – Daryl, Renee, Harrison, Chloe – for believing in me and committing to me and my family for a long time," Draisaitl said. "I take great pride in being an Oiler and obviously I wear my heart on my sleeve, but I love nothing more than wearing that jersey and representing our city and our great fans.

"I'm really happy and excited to hopefully be an Oiler for life.”

Draisaitl's signing on the dotted line to help continue pushing the needle forward for this franchise in pursuit to win a sixth Stanley Cup was a major statement of intent to the rest of the League about the culture, community and championship-calibre team that’s being assembled in Edmonton – an evolution in Oil Country he's been an instrumental part of since being selected third overall at the 2014 NHL Draft.

"I think as a young kid, as an 18-year-old, you start to really love being with a team and especially the team that drafted you," Draisaitl said. "You develop a love for that team, and for me, it’s always been the Oilers."

“Over the years, what we've built with our group – how tight we are with our group and all the new guys who are continuously coming in – they all say the same things about our group and about our city: they love playing in Edmonton. I think we've created that over the last couple of years and that's very special. We’re looking to continue that."

Draisaitl became a cornerstone for the franchise almost immediately upon arrival, playing 37 NHL games during his rookie season in 2014-15 before returning to the WHL and helping the Kelowna Rockets win the Memorial Cup by registering 88 points (33 goals) in 53 total games.

After picking up 51 points in 72 games during his first full NHL season in '15-16, he broke out in a big way the next year with 29 goals and 77 points, helping end Edmonton's 11-year playoff drought while signing his first long-term contract with the club at eight years for an AAV of $8.5 million. Considered to be an overpay at the time for a young and still relatively unproven forward, Draisaitl dispelled any doubts there might've been over the value of his contract.

The German has earned an Art Ross, Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award over 11 NHL seasons, exceeding 100 points on four occasions and 40 goals four times while earning a reputation as hockey's best passer with his impeccable ability to find the tape of his teammates from either side of his 'burger flipper' – the slightly-curved blade of his stick that's produced 343 goals and 503 assists in 719 career NHL games.

Draisaitl has proven he can provide during clutch time, averaging 1.51 points per game over the past five postseasons that's behind only his teammate Connor McDavid at 1.71. During the 2022 playoffs, Leon helped lift the Oilers to a second-round victory over their rivals the Calgary Flames back in 2022 on one ankle, recording two goals and 15 assists in five games after suffering a high-ankle sprain in Round 1 against Los Angeles.

With one more season left before he becomes the highest-paid player in the NHL, the German doesn't have any problem with that type of pressure; in fact, he looks at it through a different lens than most.

“There's pressure of course, but I don't know about the word 'pressure'," he said. "I think it's a responsibility more so than pressure."

“I'm aware of my responsibility. I'm aware of the commitment that Daryl, the Katz family and the entire Oilers organization have given me. It's my time now to give that back in a way, and I'm aware of my responsibility. Is it pressure? In certain moments, there is pressure. I'm going to get paid a lot of money to be able to handle those moments.”

For Draisaitl, it's only ever been Edmonton, where he's given everything for the only NHL team and city that he's ever known. When it came time to think about the next eight years of his NHL career entering the final season of his current contract, Oil Country was the only place he could see himself spending them.

“Just what we've built over the last couple of years and how at home I feel in Edmonton," he said about his confidence in re-signing with the Oilers. "I don't know anything other than Edmonton and I feel super proud and excited to wear that jersey every single day. And like I said earlier, I take great pride in playing for our city, our fans and I think we're building something really special and that's something I want to continue to be a part of and hopefully get it one step further.”

Off the ice, Draisaitl and his fiancée Celeste Desjardins have formed strong bonds with his teammates and their significant others – strengthening ties even further and reinforcing his desire to stay in Edmonton for the foreseeable future.

"We've created friendships over the last couple of years. Our wives, fiancées and girlfriends have created friendships – forever-lasting friendships – over the last couple of years and that's really special," Draisaitl said.

"Our main priority is to win of course – you can ask Connor, Darnell, Nuge, Hyms and everyone – but I think what we've created off the ice is almost just as important. People want to come here and when they do come, it's hard for them to leave. I think we've created that over the last couple of years, and that's something that we're really proud of. The main priority is to win the Stanley Cup, but we’ve certainly made some lifelong friends along the way.”

There's plenty of unfinished business in Blue & Orange for the man they call Drai and Leo in the dressing room following Edmonton's run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last season. While the entire hockey world might be talking about his new deal, he's focused on getting back into the Oilers' dressing room for Training Camp and getting his side back to the playoffs to win the last game of the season.

“It took some time," Draisaitl said of last season's loss in the Final. "That was a pretty gut-wrenching feeling for a little while. Obviously there's a sense of being proud of what we did, but at the end of the day, nobody talked about the Edmonton Oilers, right? Our goal and what we all want is the last day of the season for everyone to talk about us, and we took some really big steps last season. I think we added some really good pieces this summer. Of course, unfortunately, we lost some really good players, but that's part of the business. I really like the way our team looks right now and I'm excited to get it going."

Having been a part of the process for this long as a member of the Oilers – seeing the growth of the organization and coming within one game of winning the Stanley Cup last season – Leon was not about to start over somewhere when he and his teammates are this close to achieving their ultimate goal of lifting Lord Stanley together.

“Obviously we haven't gotten the job done yet, which makes it even more special for me. We're going to do this together. We're all pulling on the same rope here again, I'm just excited to be a part of it and excited to keep chipping away at the ultimate goal, and we all know what that is.