Leon Draisaitl signed an eight-year, $68-million deal to remain with the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday, a deal that will keep him and reigning Hart Trophy winner Connor McDavid together through the prime of their careers together and, presumably, make Edmonton a city of champions again.
In fact, the promise of what’s to come with the young Oilers core that broke a decade-long playoff drought this past spring is precisely why Draisitl wanted the maximum eight-year contract length.
“That’s the biggest reason why I wanted a long-term deal,” he told Tim & Sid Wednesday after his signing was announced. “I think we really do have something special. We have a great group of guys and we love playing for each other. I just wanted to be apart of that as long as possible and I’m very happy it worked out that way.”
Draisaitl’s 16 points in 13 games in the playoffs was a major reason why Edmonton managed to eliminate the San Jose Sharks and take the Anaheim Ducks to seven games in the second round. In the regular season his 77 points put him just behind McDavid’s 100 for the team lead, while the 177 combined points made the duo the most productive pair in the NHL last season despite the pair being just 20 (McDavid) and 21 (Draisaitl), respectively.
Watch Tim & Sid’s full interview with Draisaitl at the top of this post.
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