The Edmonton Oilers have given Leon Draisaitl an eight-year, $112 million contract extension, giving the German star the highest salary cap in NHL history at $14 million.
The new contract will begin with the 2025-26 season and run through 2033. General manager Stan Bowman announced the extension on Tuesday.
“This is a historic day for the Edmonton Oilers,” Bowman said. “Leon’s dedication to our team, our city and Oilers fans everywhere cannot be overstated. His desire to bring a Stanley Cup title to Edmonton is at the heart of everything he does, both on and off the ice.”
Draisaitl and Connor McDavid helped the team reach Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals last year. Draisaitl, the league MVP in 2020, was set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Signing Draisaitl was the biggest task of the Oilers’ offseason. Bowman was hired as GM in late July, weeks after he was reinstated by the league office following a suspension for his role in the 2010 sexual assault allegations against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Draisaitl surpasses Auston Matthews’ $13.25m cap hit with this new contract, which nearly doubles his salary. The 28-year-old Draisaitl is earning an average of $8.5m under his current deal, which was signed in 2017 and became one of the league’s most team-friendly.
The big forward from Cologne has been worth every penny, scoring 850 points in 719 regular season games since his NHL debut and is one of the top producers in playoff history with 108 points in 74. Draisaitl’s 1.46 points per game ranks fourth all-time among players with 40+ postseason games, behind Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux and McDavid.
With that contract finalized, the Oilers can now turn their attention to re-signing McDavid, their captain, face of the franchise and reigning playoff MVP. He could be a free agent in the summer of 2026 and will be eligible to sign a contract extension on July 1.