Okay, Edmonton Oilers fans, you can exhale. Well, almost. On Sept. 6, trusted NHL insider Elliotte Friedman told Oilers Now host Bob Stauffer, “(Leon) Draisaitl is going to stay…I’m saying that right now. I think Draisaitl is going to stay…if things stay the same I don’t think he’ll go anywhere.” That’s not a misquote, Friedman mentioned he thinks Draisaitl is going to stay twice in the span of ten seconds during his segment with Stauffer. Considering how plugged in Friedman is, and how many of his predictions about players have been verified over the years, this is a good sign for Oilers fans going into this season and into the future.
Draisaitl and McDavid Motivated to Win
This past offseason Draisaitl spent more time in Canada training with his friend and Oilers captain Connor McDavid – a sign that both superstars are even more focused on trying to win it all this season. At a recent media availability to promote the upcoming Heritage Classic, McDavid mentioned, “Leon’s had an absolutely amazing summer. He’s put a lot of work into it, I know he’s super motivated, he looks great, and I would expect him to have a very good year.”
Draisaitl talked about his offseason training at a Sept. 7 press conference when a reporter asked him, “Last summer you had to rehab a little bit more (due to the 2022 playoff injury against the Los Angeles Kings)…Do you feel you’re further ahead coming into this summer? Draisaitl said, “I feel really good. I had a really good summer. Trained a lot. Skated a lot. And, yes, I feel ready to go and fresh.” That’s good news for the Oilers and bad news for the rest of the league.
If Draisaitl Re-signs in Edmonton Will McDavid Do The Same?
If Draisaitl inks a new contract with the Oilers after his current deal expires, there might be a chance McDavid will also re-sign in Edmonton. Draisaitl’s current $8.5 million per season contract is up in the 2024-25 season while McDavid’s $12.5 million per season contract expires the following year after the 2025-26 season. Both players are due significant raises, and Oilers management and fans are holding their breath in terms of waiting for news of a jump in the league salary cap. The current salary cap could jump by $4 million after the 2023-24 season and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman mentioned that it’s “Contingent upon escrow debt from players being repaid in full by end of season.”
Oilers fans can only hope the cap can go up sharply when it comes time to re-sign both Draisaitl and McDavid as the team also needs to sign a strong supporting cast as well. Maybe Drasaiitl and McDavid will pull a Tom Brady and give the Oilers a hometown discount just so they can continue playing together and hopefully win a Stanley Cup in Edmonton. When you look at numbers around the league, the Oilers provide one of the only viable opportunities for the two stars to play together. Not too many teams have close to $30 million in cap space kicking around to sign the dynamic duo even if they wanted to. There’s also something to be said about friendship in hockey, just ask Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier -who not only won four Stanley Cups together in Edmonton but reunited late in their careers with the New York Rangers.
Expecting A Big Season from Draisaitl in 2023-24
With news that Draisaitl has healed from the nagging leg injury he sustained against the Kings in the 2022 Playoffs, there’s a chance that he could rewrite his own record book. This past regular season, he finished with a career-high 128 points. In 2022-23, he reached a career high in goals with 55. If all goes well in the 2023-24 season, he could surpass both totals and reach the 60-goal plateau.
Related: Oilers’ Draisaitl Has Shot at Scoring 60 Goals
The Oilers’ record-setting powerplay features the same five guys from last season including Draisaitl, McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman and Evan Bouchard. The majority of this group is in the prime of their careers, and Bouchard is only expected to get better as he matures, meaning the Oilers’ powerplay could be even more lethal this season. As a powerplay specialist, Draisaitl is sure to rack up the points that could propel him to the best goal and point production numbers of his career. It’s going to be an interesting season in Edmonton, especially for Draisaitl who looks like he’s more motivated than ever to take the next big step in bringing the Stanley Cup back to Oil Country.
