from Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun,
Draisaitl, in his round of phone interviews that began at noon with rights holder 630 CHED, was adamant about his long-term desire to be an Oiler. The only question to most was whether Draisaitl might have to do a bridge deal if general manager Peter Charelli was going to balk at a number more than the $7 million or so suggested by contracts of comparable players.
“For me there was never even a thought to go anywhere else or to think about going anywhere else,” Draisaitl made it clear.
“You look at options, but for me personally, I just want to be with this group as long as possible. We have such a good group and I really do believe we have something special coming up in Edmonton,” added the NHL’s eighth top scorer with 77 points during the regular season and Oilers top producer in the playoffs with 17.
The ecstasy is that the modern day dynamic duo equivalent of Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier are both signed far enough into the future to take them through their prime time years of most careers.
McDavid’s eight-year extension, keeps him here for the next nine years. The captain has one year remaining on his entry-level deal. Draisaitl’s new deal kicks in this season. And there’s something to be said with both deals not ending at the same time.
Bottom line?
The future is now!
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