The Edmonton Oilers have locked up their guy. Well, one of their guy(s), I guess.

On Tuesday morning, the Stanley Cup Final participants announced an eight-year contract extension for forward Leon Draisaitl at an annual average value of $14 million.

“This is an historic day for the Edmonton Oilers,” said Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Stan Bowman. “Leon’s commitment to our team, our city and Oilers fans everywhere cannot be overstated. His desire to help bring a Stanley Cup title home to Edmonton is central to everything he does both on and off the ice.”

The contract makes Draisaitl’s new deal the richest per year in NHL history, passing Auston Matthews’ $13.25 million cap hit and Nathan Mackinnon’s $12.6 million AAV. The deal has a total value of $112 million. Vancouver Canucks centre Elias Pettersson now goes from the fifth-highest to sixth-highest paid player in the NHL next season.

Draisaitl, who turns 29 in October, has 347 goals and 503 assists through 719 career games. In 2022-23, he recorded 128 points and scored 50 goals for the third time in his career. The extension essentially keeps Draisaitl in Edmonton for the remainder of his career, as it won’t expire until Draisaitl heads into his age 38 season.

Connor McDavid is eligible to sign a contract extension on July 1st, 2025, and needs a new deal by the start of the 2026-27 season. Tick tock!

It never really seemed like a possibility that Draisaitl would ever leave Edmonton, and the Oilers’ competitive window appears to be as open for as long as McDavid and Draisaitl can stay together. Draisaitl won the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP in the 2019-20 season, along with the Art Ross Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award.