The Edmonton Oilers miss their “other” superstar.
Saturday night’s effort again the Tampa Bay Lightning shone a light on that.
So, what’s up with Leon Draisaitl? And what can the Oilers do to overcome it…if anything?
That and more in this edition of…
9 Things
9. The Oilers announced this past week a three-year extension of their radio broadcast deal with 880 CHED. CHED has been the club’s radio home since 1995. Radio remains the superior hands-free, eyes-free, portable way to enjoy games. Jack Michaels, Cam Moon and Bob Stauffer are among the best.
8. Speaking of which, the winter “book” is out from NUMERIS (R1/26, FC CUME, A2+). Of the rated Edmonton Sports radio shows, Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer led with an average daily audience of 29,869. Inside Sports (also CHED, Brenden Escott) was 26,479. The Nielson Show over on CRUZ-FM hit 9,436.
7. Going into action Saturday Mattias Ekholm led all NHL Defencemen in Expected Goals (xGF%) at 65.96. Cale Maker was second, Brayden McNabb third. In fourth place is Oilers partner Evan Bouchard (63.18). It has been a remarkable season for Ekholm whose play late last season was diminished by injury. He will be 36 in May.
6. The Oilers have missed Ty Emberson. The kid has taken a nice step this season. With him out, that third pairing has been a mess at times. But against Tampa, Emberson was +1 in 13:18 and 5v5 was 15-7, 68% and High Dangers were 1-2. In fact, Emberson helped made Jake Walman better…the latter only allowing one HDSC against 5v5. Maybe Emberson is the Walman whisperer!
5. The injury to Trent Frederic on Thursday could not come at a much worse time for both the player and his team. Since the Olympic break, Frederic has been the player the Oilers surely thought they were getting. A relief after a rough start. When he is “right”, Frederic’s mix of size, abrasiveness and tools are only equaled among the forwards by Vasily Podkolzin. More on Podkolzin in a minute…
4. I do not think we should not overlook the impact of two deep playoff runs on the Edmonton Oilers. It is not an excuse, but it certainly can be a reason behind their challenging season to date. Consider just as one example the number of “real” games that Connor McDavid has played the past three years: 270, between NHL Regular Season, Stanley Cup Playoffs, Four Nations and Olympics. And he averages 22 minutes a night. A lot of the roster has played a lot of games. It might be adding up.
3. The Florida Panthers went 1-3 on their most recent road trip. They beat the Oilers and lost to three non-playoff teams: Seattle (on the outside looking in, for now, at least), Calgary and Vancouver. Look: Defending champions are almost always tough outs. Of all those four games, it was entirely predictable that the Panthers might be “up” for the Edmonton date. The two clubs share a lot of history. And I would have assumed that the feeling would have been mutual. That turned out to not be the case.
2. Fast forward to Saturday’s game against Tampa Bay Lightening, a club which in 2026 superior to the Panthers. It was a competitive game which the better team won. But if the Oilers play like that against Florida, I think most nights you win. And I really liked the physical push-back from Edmonton: Ekholm and McDavid responding to the hit from behind on Bouchard. Podkolzin dropping Cirelli. Darnell Nurse had eight hits. In the end, the Tampa players were better than the Oilers best. That will sometimes happen against an elite team like the Bolts. But the compete was present. And that gives me some hope, going forward.
1. The injured Leon Draisaitl is currently in Germany being treated by renowned sports injury Orthopedist Dr. Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt. The doctor is considered the best there is in his field. Leon Draisaitl Quote (via a translator): “It will definitely take a few weeks. I hope we go far enough so I can help the team again”. Draisaitl was walking a bit stiffly to my eye but not “limping”. Dr. Harjas Grewal, who has a solid reputation for diagnosing sports injuries via video and his own medical background, commented “No brace, no boot and no crutches for Draisaitl. In terms of NHL injury info, that’s probably as good as it gets”. Grewal continued “Very well could be an MCL injury. Grade 1 and he’s for sure good for Game 1 playoffs, if Grade 2 it’s still quite likely”.
Draisaitl’s absence the last two games has been particularly noticeable. The Power play is 0-5. And the attack 5v5 is not the same, either. The Oilers have three players that consistently drive play: Draisaitl, McDavid and Bouchard. All the others are various levels of support players. When you lose one of those big three guys, you are a different team. Edmonton is not unique in this way. Most clubs would be in a similar spot.
But in the here and now, Edmonton’s Batman has no Robin. And that leaves the Oilers a little less super. Other players will have to contribute more, others will have to be careful to not try and do too much. Loyal, positive fans in Oil Country and the most negative doom scrollers will each digest the Draisaitl/Munich story in their own way. But for what it’s worth, here is my take:
The Oilers have not changed their timeline for Leon Draisaitl, and the player is getting elite care.
It is about as good as a bad situation is going to get.
This article is not AI generated.
Leavins Cult of Hockey
Recently, at The Cult…
STAPLES: Edmonton Oilers lose 5-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning
LEAVINS: Oilers blanked 4-0 by old foe
Bruce McCurdy, 1955-2025.
Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.