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The summer of 2024 has been full of celebrations for Hallmark star Celeste Desjardins. In mid-July, two weeks before she starred opposite Marcus Rosner in the Hallmark Channel premiere of “An Ice Palace Romance,” Desjardins got engaged to her longtime beau, NHL superstar Leon Draisaitl. On the heels of that big news, she’s now also celebrating her fiancé signing one of the most lucrative deals in NHL history.
On September 3, Desjardins — whose other Hallmark projects include appearing in the network’s three “Flower Shop Mysteries” movies, an episode of “Good Witch,” and the rom-com “Lead With Your Heart,” per IMDb — cheered her fiancé’s decision to stay with the Edmonton Oilers after the team announced its historic $112 million extension deal with the star center, per ESPN.
“So incredibly proud of you baby,” she wrote in an Instagram Story shortly after news broke of Draisaitl’s historic deal.
His new eight-year contract begins during the 2025-26 season, according to Sports Illustrated, which reported that it’s the second largest second-largest NHL deal in history.
Celeste Desjardins Says She’s Excited to Live in Edmonton ‘for the Next 8 Years’
In Desjardins’ Instagram Story, she shared a photo she originally posted in October 2023 of her and her German beau at the ice rink.
“I’ve watched you pour so much love and hard work in everything you do,” she wrote beneath the photo. You commitment and passion for the game is unmatched. I can’t wait to see what the next 8 years has in store for you.”
“So happy to be on this journey with you and get the privilege to call Edmonton home for the next 8 years,” Desjardins continued. “We have created such a beautiful life there with an incredible community and I’m so excited to watch all your greatness continue there. I know how much this city and this team means to you. Keep going my love!”
Desjardins then wrote, “Ich liebe dich,” which means “I love you” in German, followed by “LET’S GO OILERS”
Leon Draisaitl Says He ‘Hopes to Be an Oiler for Life’
Desjardins and Draisaitl went Instagram official in June 2018, when Desjardins posted a photo of them together with a single red heart emoji. But the pair had already been dating for years by that time. In November 2023, she posted a TikTok montage of videos of them together, captioning the post, “7 years ❤️.”
Both 28, it’s not clear how the couple met. Desjardins was born in Ontario, Canada, per IMDb, while Draisaitl was born in Cologne, Germany, where his dad played professional hockey, according to NHL.com. The family eventually moved to Canada, where Draisaitl played in the Western Hockey League, per the website, before joining the Oilers as the No. 3 pick in the 2014 NHL draft.
Draisaitl’s first eight-year contract was worth $68 million, and his agent Jiri Poner told German outlet Eis Hockey News in early July that the Oilers, who lost the 2024 Stanley Cup to the Florida Panthers in June, had one month left to sign Draisaitl or he’d become a free agent.
“There’s no rush yet, but either it happens quickly, i.e. by the end of August, or it doesn’t work out at all,” Poner said. “It will also become clear whether Edmonton wants him or not. Leon holds all the trump cards.”
“I’m really really happy, hopefully to be an Oiler for life,” Draisaitl said in a press conference on September 3, per The Hockey News. “There’s a lot of chatter in these negotiations, but what we’ve built over the last couple years, and how at home I feel in Edmonton, I take great pride for playing for our city, and our fans.”
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