According to a fresh story that surfaced this afternoon, Leon Draisaitl has given himself a strict deadline for ending his negotiations for a contract extension with the Edmonton Oilers.
With superstar center Leon Draisaitl nearing free agency, the Edmonton Oilers must make a significant choice. In 2024–2025, he will begin the last season of his contract; an extension has not yet been agreed upon. Although discussions are still going on, a significant update that has supplied a lot of background information regarding the negotiations was made public today.
The 2 Mutts Hockey Podcast reports that in the upcoming week, there will be significant progress in the contract negotiations between Leon Draisaitl and Stan Bowman.
Leon Draisaitl is scheduled to be in Edmonton within the next couple of days. This was a week that was very important to get this done. Talks will pick up as him & Stan Bowman will meet in person.
The source also was able to provide context on a deadline for the negotiations and what a potential extension for Leon Draisaitl could look like when things are finalized.
Report confirms when Leon Draisaitl’s contract needs to be signed by
The source continued and confirmed that Leon Draisaitl will refuse to negotiate his contract during the season. This means that the Edmonton Oilers will need to have the extension done by September 19th.
If there is no deal to be signed before September 19th Leon won’t negotiate during the season. The goal is to get this done before that date as Leon doesn’t want this to be a problem or a distraction going into training camp.
Lastly, a report has come in revealing that the Edmonton Oilers had a meeting at the end of the season led by Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, and Evan Bouchard where they urged each other and the team as a whole to take team-friendly deals. This is due to the fact that many of the players want to stick around long-term and the only way to make that happen is to take team-friendly deals.
Getting Leon Draisaitl back on a deal below 14 million would be fantastic business for new GM Stan Bowman. Leon Draisaitl has eclipsed 100 points each season for the last 6 seasons other than the shortened season due to the pandemic. He is coming off of a season in 2023-24 where he tallied 41 goals and 106 total points.
If the Edmonton Oilers are in eventual need for salary cap space to make things work then Darnell Nurse could be a name to keep an eye on. He has a salary cap hit over 9 million and does not play nearly consistently enough to that level.
Update on Leon Draisaitl & his contract extension talks.
8 years, $13.5M AAV is the deal that gets this done, here’s why.
Leon Draisaitl is scheduled to be in Edmonton within the next couple of days. This was a week that was very important to get this done.
Talks will pick…— 2 Mutts Hockey Podcast (@2MuttsHockeyPod) August 26, 2024
With NHL training camp approaching rapidly the Edmonton Oilers will need to take advantage of the meetings they have with Leon Draisaitl. If they do not get a deal done by the beginning of the season they risk losing out on Leon Draisaitl much like the Tampa Bay Lightning did with Steven Stamkos this summer.
