Re-signing Leon Draisaitl a "top priority" for new Oilers GM
The Edmonton Oilers have their new GM in Stan Bowman, and now all the attention will shift over to Leon Draisaitl’s future with the club.
Draisaitl is entering the final season of an eight-year contract that he signed with the Oilers in 2017. He has been eligible to sign a new deal with the Oilers since the beginning of July, and Edmonton CEO Jeff Jackson says the team was waiting to hire a new GM before engaging in heavy negotiations.
Now that Bowman is on board, it’s expected that the Draisaitl negotiations will be top of mind for the organization. Bowman himself confirmed this at his introductory press conference this morning.
“Leon is a star player and he’s top priority for me,” Bowman said. “I want Leon to be an Oiler for life.”
I think hockey takes a backseat on things like today for the #Oilers…. but Bowman did provide some insight on contract negotiations with Draisaitl this morning:
"Leon is a star player and he's top priority for me. I want Leon to be an Oiler for life."
— Preston Hodgkinson (@NHLHodgkinson) July 24, 2024
Locking down Draisaitl to another long-term deal will be essential if the Oilers want to extend their Stanley Cup window. Getting the three-time 50-goal scorer to stick around the Alberta capital will not only secure his services for the Oilers but should also play a big role in whether or not the team can do the same with captain Connor McDavid, who has two more seasons left on his current contract.
Bowman said that the duo of Draisaitl and McDavid are at the top of his mind when it comes to building a championship team like the Oilers.
“They’re the best there is,” Bowman told media. “I think that’s a priority, they clearly are a big part of what we’re doing… They are a huge part of this community, this team, and they are going to be going forward.”
On Draisaitl’s end of things, it does sound like he is interested in getting a deal done with the Oilers sooner rather than later. His agent, Jiri Ponder, spoke with a German publication earlier this summer and stated that a new extension would either get done quickly or not at all.
We’ll see where that leads, but one thing is for certain: all eyes will be on Draisaitl’s status until he puts pen to paper.
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