Oilers lock up Draisaitl, their second piece of the puzzle
EDMONTON — The two biggest cornerstones of the emerging Edmonton Oilers franchise are now locked up for the long haul.
Six weeks after extending Connor McDavid for eight years and $100 million US, the Oilers signed 21-year-old Leon Draisaitl to an eight-year contract of his own with a sizable annual cap hit of $8.5 million. Paired primarily with McDavid, Draisaitl posted a career-best 77 points last season — eighth-best in the NHL.
He added another 16 points during the first Edmonton’s playoff run in more than a decade — separated, eventually, from the precocious Oilers captain.
“I’m really excited to be back for eight years,” Draisaitl told the Oilers website after the signing was announced. “I never really thought about going anywhere else. We have something really special. It’s something I wanted to be a part of as long as possible.”
In securing his long-term rights, the Oilers are betting on Draisaitl, a restricted free agent and one of only seven German NHLers last season, to thrive with or without McDavid, the reigning winner of the Art Ross and Hart trophies and Ted Lindsay Award. The third-overall pick of the 2014 draft, Draisaitl stands to own the 10th highest cap hit in hockey next year — equal to Lightning captain and two-time Rocket Richard trophy winner Steven Stamkos.
Draisaitl’s second NHL deal slightly exceeds recent eight-year pacts handed out to 25-year-old Predators centre Ryan Johansen ($8 million cap hit) and 25-yearold Capitals pivot Evgeny Kuznetsov ($7.8 million cap hit).
Both were signing their third NHL deals, however, and are slightly older than Draisaitl, who won’t turn 22 until October 27.
Draisaitl, a natural centre, slid to right wing alongside McDavid at the start of December and went on to notch 60 points in 58 games.
In question now and moving forward is whether the Oilers keep the two franchise studs together and have them wreak havoc as a duo, or split them apart for increased depth.
McLellan went in the latter direction midway through a second-round playoff series against the Anaheim Ducks, and it worked effectively. Draisaitl, centring a second unit, scored once in a Game 5 overtime loss and then exploded for a hat trick and five points in a 7-1 Game 6 thrashing.
He ultimately finished as the Oilers’ leading playoff scorer, besting McDavid (nine points), who was mostly thwarted in a matchup with feisty American pivot Ryan Kesler.
Draisaitl piled up 19 goals and 51 points in 72 games as a 20-year-old during his sophomore season and next to none of that came with a then-rookie McDavid. He also captured the Stafford Smythe Trophy as MVP of the Memorial Cup in 2015.