‘It was always the Oilers:’ How deep bonds led to Leon Draisaitl’s commitment to Edmonton

The team’s third overall draft pick from the 2014 draft made a shiny new extension with the team official on Tuesday, inking an eight-year, $112-million deal that, when it kicks in, will make him the highest-paid player in the National Hockey League.

For Draisaitl, “It was always the Oilers.”

“I think that just evolved over time,” said the centre when asked Tuesday if there was a certain moment, or point in time where he decided he wanted to remain in Edmonton. “I think as a young kid, as an 18-year-old kid, you start to really love being with a team, especially the team that drafted you. You develop a love for that team. For me, it was always the Oilers.”

“I understand the business side very well, but for me, I wanted to be an Oiler for life, hopefully, and for as long as I can,” he later added.

It was never easy early on for Draisaitl, who took time to develop and round out as a player. His draft profile saw what Oilers fans see now: a big, strong player with excellent vision who is tough to knock off the puck. His biggest blemish was his average speed and sluggish first few steps.

However, an unrelenting work ethic saw him build not only on his already existing strengths but also on his weaknesses. He may not have the blazing speed or explosiveness that teammate and best friend Connor McDavid does — to be fair, not many do — but Draisaitl evolved into a powerful skater and one of the league’s premier power forwards, scoring 347 goals, and 850 points since entering the league, the fourth and third most among his peers, respectively.

He’s become the face of hockey in his home country of Germany, a nation which has since produced other budding talents in Tim Stutzle, Moritz Seider, and JJ Peterka, but also of that in Edmonton, a place he says he is proud to call home.

“What we’ve built over the last couple of years and how at home I feel at home in Edmonton — I don’t know anything other than Edmonton, and i feel super proud and excited to wear that jersey every single day,” he said. “I take great pride in playing for our city, for our fans, and I think we’re building something really special.”

Draisaitl and McDavid have been at the forefront of that building, with their arrival signalling the end of the decade of darkness and a beacon of hope into what ended up being a still murky future. It took a few seasons to get a taste of the playoffs, when in 2017, they took out the San Jose Sharks in the first round, falling to the Anaheim Ducks in the second.

The following summer, Draisaitl inked the eight-year, $8.5-million AAV deal he will play on this season. While he had produced well up until that point, scoring 50 goals and 137 points in 191 games, the deal seemed like a lot at the time for someone who, despite scoring 29 goals and 77 points in 82 games that season, adding another six and 13 in 13 playoff games, may not have shown enough to put him in the upper echelon of players in the league.

The first year of his deal saw him put up similar numbers to his contract year, but the 2018-19 season saw an offensive explosion not many were expecting. He put up 50 goals and 105 points in 82 games that year, following up in the 2019-20 season with 43 goals and 110 points in 71 games, earning him the Hart Trophy, Lester B. Pearson Trophy and the Art Ross trophy, cementing himself as one of the best players in the game.

His growth and that of McDavid on the ice led to Edmonton becoming a destination city. Tyson Barrie found a home with the Oilers in 2020, as Zach Hyman left the comfy confines of his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs a year later to join the group. Duncan Keith found his way west simultaneously, and Evander Kane signed part-way through that season.

Whether it was the players who signed as free agents or were acquired by trade — such as top-pairing defenceman Mattias Ekholm, or Adam Henrique, who chose to re-sign in Edmonton this summer — word spread like wildfire about the two superstars leading the charge.

But as much as the on-ice connections grew over time, so did the off-ice ones as Draisaitl and McDavid became inseparable away from the rink. That connection continued to build when Celeste Desjardins, the long-time friend of McDavid’s wife, Lauren Kyle, began dating Draisaitl, culminating with their engagement to be wed this summer.

On the ice or off it, an unwavering hunger for reaching hockey’s pinnacle, winning the Stanley Cup, continues to push Draisaitl forward.

“I’m just… excited to be a part of it and keep chipping away at the ultimate goal,” he said. “We all know what that is and just over the years, what we’ve built with our group, how tight we are with our group.

“All the new guys that are continuously coming in, they all say the same things about our group, about our city: they love playing in Edmonton,” he added, “And i think we’ve created that over the last couple years and that’s very special.”

Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman was thrust into this deeply bonded team with the top priority of getting a new deal done with Draisaitl.

“The most important thing was to make sure, number one, that he wanted to be in Edmonton, and that’s something we should all focus on as well,” Bowman said Tuesday. “He made this decision.”

While Bowman grew an appreciation for Draisaitl, McDavid and the rest of the Oilers in recent years, he spoke about what he didn’t previously know: just how much drive there is from Draisaitl and this group.

“There’s not many people in the world who can play hockey like he does, and there’s no way we could ever replace what Leon brings to the table,” said Oilers GM Stan Bowman Tuesday. “He’s a huge part of our team, he has been, and he will continue to be.

“I had a chance to get to know him better (during contract negotiations), and the thing that really stuck out to me is he’s super competitive, and what drives him is winning.”

For Bowman, Draisaitl and all the other parties involved, the focus can quickly shift to where it should be right now: the start of training camp, an 82-game regular season, and hopefully another long march to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Fresh off a year where the team was one win away from glory, the appetite will undoubtedly be higher than ever.