“I love being an Oiler”: Leon Draisaitl to be patient in contract extension talks

One of the top players in the NHL is going to take his time to determine his future.

During Wednesday’s locker clean-out day for the Edmonton Oilers, forward Leon Draisaitl was asked about his contract status. He will be entering the final year of his current deal.

“I’m going to give you the most boring answer,” Draisaitl told the media. “I’m obviously going to sit down with my agents here and talk to the Oilers. See what they’re plan is, see what our plan is and go from there.”

The German star has one more season on his eight-year contract with a cap hit of $8.5 million. He is eligible to sign an extension this coming Monday.

“I haven’t had any time to think about it. It wasn’t on my mind a lot lately. It’s just something that’s going to take a little bit of time to figure out what I want, what the Oilers want, what everyone wants…I love being an Oiler more than anything. I’ll leave it at that.”

Draisaitl has been one of the most valuable players on the team for close to a decade. Since the Oilers took the Cologne native in the third round of the 2014 NHL Draft, he has become an efficient scorer, scoring on a 40-goal pace for the past six seasons, hitting the 50-goal mark three times. Draisaitl has also hit the century mark in points five times, including a career-high 128 points during the 2022-23 campaign.

He might have taken a dip across the board this past season, notching 41 goals and 106 points during the regular season, but he was a big reason Edmonton made it to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 18 years. Though he registered just three assists in the seven games against the Florida Panthers, Draisaitl posted 10 goals and 31 points in 25 games, finishing third behind captain Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard.

There is no question that Draisaitl will receive a pay bump from what he is currently making, as he deserves to be paid like a top goal scorer.