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Greg Wyshynski, ESPNSep 3, 2024, 10:54 AM ET
- Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.
Leon Draisaitl signed a blockbuster eight-year extension with the Edmonton Oilers that gives the star center the highest average annual contract value in the salary cap era.
Draisaitl, 28, agreed to a deal that begins in the 2025-26 season and carries an average annual value of $14 million for a total of $112 million. He’s entering the final season of an eight-year contract signed in 2017 that carries an $8.5 million cap hit.
The current highest NHL cap hit belongs to Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews ($13.25 million), who signed his deal in August 2023.
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“For me, it was always the Oilers,” Draisaitl said Tuesday. “Obviously we haven’t gotten the job done yet, which makes it to me even more special. We’re going to do this together. We’re all pulling on the same rope here. I’m excited to be a part of it and excited to keep chipping away at the ultimate goal, and we all know what that is.”
Draisaitl has 850 points in 719 games during his 10 NHL seasons — the third-highest total in that span behind Oilers teammate Connor McDavid (982) and Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov (855). Draisaitl led the NHL in scoring in 2019-20 and won the Hart Trophy as league MVP that season.
His 347 career goals are the fourth most of any player in that span.
“Players like Leon are special: There’s not many people in the world that can play hockey like he does,” said general manager Stan Bowman, who was hired in late July. “There’s no way we could ever replace what Leon brings to the table. He’s a huge part of our team, he has been and he will continue to be.”
It’s the first significant move for Bowman, who replaced Ken Holland in the offseason. The Oilers lost to the Florida Panthers in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in June.
The Oilers have two more significant contract decisions on the horizon: Standout defenseman Evan Bouchard, 24, is a restricted free agent after the 2024-25 season; and McDavid is an unrestricted free agent after the 2025-26 season, with two more seasons left at $12.5 million AAV.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
