Leon Draisaitl breaks silence on looming Edmonton Oilers extension as $68,000,000 contract nears end

By Srihari Anand

Modified Jun 28, 2024 06:03 GMT

Leon Draisaitl is eligible to sign an extension come July 1, when he enters the last year of his eight-year, $68M contract signed in 2017. After a disappointing Game 7 Stanley Cup Final loss, the German winger finally broke his silence on his looming extension after months of rumors regarding his future as an Oiler.

Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid spoke with the media on June 26, after the Oilers cleaned out their locker rooms at Rogers Place. Sitting beside his star teammate and close friend McDavid, the 28-year-old forward addressed the "ultimate elephant in the room", his contract extension.

Draisaitl did not indulge too much in the details, and gave, what according to him, was the most boring answer. He said:

"I'm obviously gonna sit down with my agents here and talk to the Oilers. See what their plan is, see what our plan is and just go from there."

Entering the last year of his contract, Draisaitl may walk away for free as an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season. The Edmonton Oilers would surely not want that to happen.

Addressing a possible timeline to make his final decision, he said:

"I don't have an answer to that for you. Obviously I haven't had any time to think about it. It wasn't on my mind a lot lately. It's just something that is going to take a little bit of time to figure out what I want, what the Oilers want, what everyone wants."

Leon Draisaitl was asked if he is open to considering other teams' offers first, or if he would give preference to the Oilers to offer an extension. He laughingly said:

"Edmonton has the only chance to sign me. So, I guess they are first. I love being an Oiler more than anything."

Leon Draisaitl reflects on Edmonton Oilers' special run to Stanley Cup Final

The Edmonton Oilers were 31st in the league standings at one point during the 2024 season. But after firing Jay Woodcroft and bringing in rookie head coach Kris Knoblauch, the team turned it around and clawed their way to the Stanley Cup Final, where they lost in seven games to Florida Panthers, after being 3-0 down.

Leon Draisaitl talked about the Oilers' miracle run this season and said:

“Of course it was a special run. I think any time you can get pretty much a full country behind you, it's special. It’s obviously a lot of fun being in those games, and the stakes don't get much higher or bigger than what we were playing."

The 2020 Hart Trophy winner reiterated his disappointment in the loss, as he did right after Game 7. But Draisail was proud of the team's achievements and said:

"Again, it's disappointing. It's frustrating that there's only one team that can win, but again, I'm very proud of what we've been through this year and how we had a whole country rooting for us.”

After the Oilers failed in their pursuit of a historic Stanley Cup win, Knoblauch revealed that several stars, including Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, played through injuries during the playoffs.