Edmonton Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli said Tuesday that while re-signing defenceman Kris Russell is a priority, extensions for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl need to come first.

Draisaitl is slated to become a restricted free-agent in July, while McDavid has one year remaining on his entry-level contract.

Draisaitl, 21, is coming off a breakout year in the NHL, scoring 29 goals and adding 48 assists in 82 games. He scored six goals and added 10 assists in 13 playoff games.

Through 191 career games, the third overall pick of the 2014 draft owns 50 goals and 137 points.

McDavid, named the Oilers captain prior to the season, led the NHL in assists (70) and points (100) during the regular season. He added five goals and four assists in 13 playoff games.

The 20-year-old missed a significant portion of his rookie season due to a broken collarbone, but now owns 46 goals and 148 points in 127 games. He was selected first overall in the 2016 NHL Draft.

Russell, who signed with the Oilers in October on a one-year deal, said he wants to return to Edmonton when the team cleared out their lockers last week.

"They showed faith in me by going out and signing me," Russell said, per the Edmonton Journal. "I love playing here. It's a first class organization. They treat you very well. The group inside is great. I think this team obviously has a bright future. I wish we were still playing, but I think this team grew a lot.

"With the signing and all that stuff, I'll let my agent deal with that," Russell said. "Obviously I'd like to come back but there is a business side to this and you never know what's going to happen."

Russell dressed in the Oilers season opener just five days after signing and went on to score one goal and 13 points in 68 games during the regular season. He tallied four assists in 13 games during the postseason.

A veteran of 641 career games, Russell owns 39 goals and 151 assists in his NHL career. The Caroline, AB native was a third-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2005.

Zack Kassian, Jujhar Khaira, Iiro Pakarinen, Griffin Reinhart, Laurent Brossoit and Nick Ellis are all restricted free agents this summer, while David Desharnais, Matt Hendricks, Tyler Pitlick and Eric Gryba are all unrestricted free agents, along with Russell.