The Edmonton Oilers announced Wednesday that centre Leon Draisaitl had been signed to an eight-year contract extension.
The contract, in place until the 2024-25 NHL season, is worth about $8.5 million per year.
“We really do have something special in Edmonton right now and that’s just something I want to be a part of for as long as possible,” Draisaitl said in a phone interview.
The 21-year-old Cologne, Germany native set career highs in his third NHL season in 2016-17, with 77 points (29 goals, 48 assists) in 82 games. He finished second on the team in scoring, behind Connor McDavid – he was ranked eighth among all NHL scorers.
Draisaitl credited his chemistry with McDavid as a major reason why he committed long-term to the Oilers.
“It’s exciting to be with a player of his caliber,” Draisaitl said.
He also set a new record for points collected by a German player in an NHL season, surpassing the record set by Marco Sturm in 2006 (59 points).
During the 2017 playoffs the 216 lbs, and is 6’1” tall centre led the Oilers in scoring, posting 16 points (6 goals, 10 assists) in 13 games.
With files from Adam Cook
