Getty Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl
The Edmonton Oilers and superstar Leon Draisaitl will face related pivotal decisions regarding the future of both parties sooner than most realize.
For Draisaitl, it all comes down to whether or not he wants to sign a contract extension with the Oilers. Edmonton, on the other hand, will need to decide how much money they are willing to pay Drasaitl… and if he rejects the proposal, whether or not to trade him or let him play out the remainder of his contract.
Draisaitl’s contract ends on July 1, 2025, and he can sign an extension starting July 1, 2024. His choice (at that or a later date) will dictate the Oilers’ strategy heading into the 2025 trade deadline and beyond, according to Chris Johnston of The Athletic.
“Edmonton is not inclined to let the 28-year-old center simply play out the final year of his contract and walk directly into free agency next July, according to multiple league sources familiar with the front office’s view of the situation,” Johnston reported on June 25.
“With Connor McDavid eligible to sign an extension 12 months down the line and the Oilers eager to extend their championship window as long as possible, there is at least some concern about the potential for a “double whammy” in the event Draisaitl were retained for 2024–25 without a new contract in place.
“It could create a scenario where he leaves for nothing just as McDavid is set to chart his own future.”
Oilers’ Reasons to Keep Leon Draisaitl
Despite uncertainties about Draisaitl’s extension, The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman believes the Oilers shouldn’t even consider trading him.
“The outcome of what happens between Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers this summer is franchise-defining and could have massive ripple effects that include Connor McDavid’s future,” Nugent-Bowman wrote. “So, here’s some unsolicited advice for the Oilers: Don’t trade your superstar center under almost any condition.”
The reporter argues that retaining Draisaitl, even without an extension, is crucial for the team’s present and future. Trading him, Nugent-Bowman argues, risks diminishing the team’s immediate competitive edge coming off a deep run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Draisaitl and Connor McDavid have consistently been the top two-point scorers in the NHL over the past five years, driving the Oilers’ success. They are the only two players with more than 500 points in that span. Nugent-Hopkins believes the Oilers cannot win a Draisaitl trade, calling for them to keep him no matter what.
“Trading Draisaitl is almost certainly a no-win situation for the Oilers,” the reporter wrote. “He has a 10-team trade list and, for all intents and purposes, controls where he’d play next. Draisaitl can choose where he wants to go, because that team will want him to come with an extension before offering up prime assets in a trade.”
Nugent-Bowman compared Draisaitl’s potential demands with those of fellow superstars Nathan MacKinnon, David Pastrnak, Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Elias Pettersson, projecting the Oilers forward to look for, “at a minimum,” a contract of “$12.5 million on average and probably $13 million as the floor for his next cap hit.”
Background on Leon Draisaitl & Edmonton Oilers Relationship
The Oilers drafted Draisaitl with the No. 3 pick in the 2014 draft one year before drafting McDavid with the No. 1 overall pick in 2025.
Draisaitl and McDavid have formed one of the most potent duos in NHL history. Draisaitl expressed his desire to win the Stanley Cup with Edmonton midway through the 2024 season.
“Of course, I want to finish the job (in Edmonton). That’s why I pour my heart, my emotions — my body language, sometimes — into it every day,” Draisaitl told Sportsnet on January 10. “That’s the way I’m wired. I care a lot. Of course, I want to finish the job. And I want to finish it here.”
In the same interview, however, Draisaitl hinted at considering factors beyond hockey in his contract decision heading into the final season under contract.
“There are lots of things that go into it. Lots of things that play a role in these situations. And at the end of the day, I’m going to give you the boring answer again: We’ll see,” Draisaitl said.
According to Johnston, the Oilers consider signing Draisaitl to a contract extension a “massive priority,” but the franchise “will pivot if he shows any reluctance to commit.”
As Nugent-Bowman fears, however, “there might not be a contract offer big enough to keep Draisaitl in Edmonton.” Even then, the analyst thinks that once Draisaitl decides, and if he prefers to go elsewhere, the Oilers shouldn’t instinctively move him.
“Once Draisaitl comes to his decision, and if that decision is that he’d prefer to go elsewhere, the Oilers’ first instinct shouldn’t be to move him.”