There were a lot of talks as to how Leon Draisaitl was already slated to move on from the team after losing out one season after another and never reaching the Stanley Cup Final. But after a near-historic comeback in the previous Final, it seems that the forward is keen to be back for more with his team heading into the 2024-25 NHL season.

Draisaitl just landed a bigger deal with the Oilers, signing an eight-year, $112 million deal that averages $14 million per season. At the age of 28, Draisaitl was already slatted to enter the final season of his $68 million deal that he signed back in August 2017, and had it not been for the extension, the star forward could have ended up as an unrestricted free agent after the 2024-25 season.

A Big Run Ahead for Draisaitl

Leon Draisaitl was pleased that he got a chance to play for the Oilers once more, and this extension deal with the team truly caps off what was a promising run from the team last season. Now it seems that the star forward is hoping for bigger strides that will help him and the rest of his team deliver a promising championship for the first time in decades.

"I take great pride in being an Oiler and always obviously wear my heart on my sleeve, but I love nothing more than wearing that jersey and representing our city and our great fans," Draisaitl said. "I'm really, really excited and happy to hopefully be an Oiler for life. I don't know anything other than Edmonton and I feel super proud and excited to wear that jersey every single day. I think we're building something really special and that's just something I want to continue to be a part of and hopefully get it one step further."

Draisaitl said that he cannot picture himself wearing a different team’s jersey, and the deal working out just fine means that he is really meant to stay in the Oilers for years to come. Now that that is done, it is time for the forward to focus on delivering a promising performance in his coming games with the team this season.

A Chance for Redemption

Despite Edmonton coming up with one of its biggest stories in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, there was still a touch of disappointment as the team failed to deliver what could have been a historic comeback from an 0-3 deficit when they fell short of winning Game 7 against the Florida Panthers.

"It took some time, it was a pretty gut-wrenching feeling for a little bit," he said. "There is a sense of being proud of what we did, but at the end of the day, nobody talked about the Edmonton Oilers. Our goal, what we want is on the last day of the season for everyone to talk about us. Obviously, you can't be much closer than what we were. I think we're ready to attack again and ready to apply these messages and these moments that we've learned along the way last season, into this season."

The Oilers quickly went to work as soon as the offseason began, negotiating deals with the star forward with the hopes of keeping him for more years to come – pairing him with the team’s ace and captain, Connor McDavid. Now that it is all said and done, it does seem that the Oilers can breathe easy and expect yet another massive run in the 2024-25 season.