Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Leon Draisaitl

Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl Out Day-To-Day, Evander Kane Returns To Practice

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Oilers star forward Leon Draisaitl is considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury and is expected to miss tonight’s clash with the Jets, head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters (including Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman). It’s not all bad news on the injury front for Edmonton, though. Winger Evander Kane skated at practice for the first time this season as he attempts a playoff return from abdominal and knee surgeries that have wiped out his 2024-25 campaign.

While Edmonton has a divisional playoff berth all but clinched, they’ve still got some important games to play to determine where they end up in the Pacific pecking order. A three-game winning streak after a 3-8-0 rut has them back on the right track, but they’re still at risk of being passed by the Kings for second in the division and losing home-ice advantage in what’s likely going to be a fourth consecutive first-round matchup between the two clubs.

That makes Draisaitl’s absence against a conference-leading Winnipeg club a tough one to swallow. The German superstar recently had his 18-game point streak draw to a close in Tuesday’s 7-1 drubbing of Utah, and he’s now the overwhelming favorite to take home the league’s goal-scoring crown with 49 in 68 games. He has an 11-tally gap on second-place William Nylander and trails the Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon by three points for the overall scoring title.

It’s unclear what might be hampering Draisaitl with less than one month to go until the postseason. He’s yet to miss a game this year and didn’t miss any shifts against Utah earlier this week. In fact, he logged over 20 minutes for the fifth consecutive game.

The Oilers, who have juggled their lines with aplomb lately, will likely have Jeff Skinner up with Zach Hyman and Connor McDavid on the first line while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins shifts to center Viktor Arvidsson and Vasily Podkolzin in Draisaitl’s absence.

One of those top-six winger roles could be Kane’s come playoff time. While it’s clear he won’t be returning during the regular season – the Oilers are using his LTIR placement to remain cap-compliant down the stretch – getting back on the practice sheet now could indicate a first-round comeback.

Injuries aside, the 33-year-old is coming off a disappointing 2023-24 campaign. His 44 points in 77 regular-season appearances equated to his worst points-per-game rate since 2015-16, and he only managed eight points in 20 games in Edmonton’s run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. He led the 2022 postseason in goals with 13 in 15 games for the Oilers despite being swept in the Western Conference Final.

The Oilers even attempted to move Kane, who has a 16-team yes-trade list, before the deadline to open up financial flexibility. That ended up not coming to fruition, so he’s now a potential option to insert into the playoff lineup at some point for an Edmonton squad with just five players at or above 15 goals on the season.

Photo courtesy of Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images.

Oilers Notes: McDavid, Draisaitl, Kane, Nurse

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Oilers star Leon Draisaitl doesn’t think he quite maxed out his value when signing his recent eight-year, $114MM mega-extension with the Oilers, he told Michael Russo of The Athletic.

Draisaitl and teammate Connor McDavid spoke about their recent and pending record-breaking contract extensions at this week’s NHL Player Media Tour in Las Vegas. “I don’t think I necessarily pushed my contract all the way to the limit,” Draisaitl said. “I’d like to state that. But I am very happy with it. I’m content with it. I think, compared to other sports, we probably don’t get paid what we deserve or don’t get paid what they get paid, right? But that’s the sport we’re in.”

McDavid was far more coy in his responses to questions about his next contract – he’s eligible to sign an extension starting July 1, 2025 – stating he’ll do what he feels is best for his family and his chances of winning a Stanley Cup.

But Draisaitl hopes his league-record $14MM AAV is a significant step in the right direction for high-end NHL talent. “I think each one of us, if we can bump it up and get more money into hockey and get the players some higher salaries, I think every player would probably say the same and they’d all be for it,” he told Russo.

There’s more from the Oilers:

  • Evander Kane is projected to be unavailable at the beginning of training camp, according to Tom Gazzola of Edmonton Sports Talk. It’s not a surprise – the team’s Bob Stauffer said last month that Kane was likely to have an undisclosed surgery and start the season on long-term injured reserve, likely related to the sports hernia he played through for a good chunk of last year. But nothing indicates he’s undergone the procedure yet, and Oilers general manager Stan Bowman said on a radio spot last week that they were hoping to have clarity on his return timeline by the end of next weekend.
  • Defenseman Darnell Nurse is also likely out for the beginning of camp, per Gazzola. Gazzola says that the 29-year-old is still nursing a lingering injury he sustained during last season’s playoffs but isn’t likely to miss any regular season action. He’s been on the ice this month for informal skates but doesn’t appear ready for full contact. The Oilers will be looking for a big rebound campaign from the 2013 seventh overall pick, entering the third season of an eight-year, $74MM deal.

Leon Draisaitl Signs Eight-Year Extension With Oilers

at CDT | by 32 Comments

1:09 p.m.: A whopping $104MM of Draisaitl’s $112MM total compensation will be paid via signing bonuses, PuckPedia reports. His base salary will be $1MM per season. He’ll earn $15.5MM in signing bonuses annually from 2025-26 through 2027-28. That figure drops to $13MM in 2028-29, then $11.5MM in 2029-30, then $11MM annually for the final three years of the deal.

9:16 a.m.: Superstar Oilers center Leon Draisaitl has signed an eight-year, $112MM extension to keep him in Edmonton through the 2032-33 season, the team announced. He’s now the NHL’s highest-paid player with an average annual value of $14MM, as initially reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Draisaitl has a full no-movement clause for the life of the contract, per Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic. He adds the deal carries a front-loaded structure, although the specific salary breakdown has yet to be reported.

The 28-year-old Draisaitl also lands the second-largest contract by total value in NHL history, trailing only Alex Ovechkin’s 13-year, $124MM deal with the Capitals signed under the previous Collective Bargaining Agreement in 2008.

“This is a historic day for the Edmonton Oilers,” general manager Stan Bowman said in a team press release. “Leon’s commitment to our team, our city and Oilers fans everywhere cannot be overstated. His desire to help bring a Stanley Cup title home to Edmonton is central to everything he does both on and off the ice.”

While it was widely expected Draisaitl would sign a max-term extension to stay in Edmonton, few thought he’d be the first player to land a $14MM AAV. There was no guarantee he’d eclipse Auston Matthews’ $13.25MM AAV to become the new highest-paid player in the league, let alone shatter it. However, since Bowman took the GM’s office in July, extension discussions have been reportedly smooth, which, in hindsight, should have been a strong indication that the Oilers were willing to shell out record-breaking cash to keep the German star in Edmonton.

Unlike his other generational teammate, Connor McDavid, Draisaitl wasn’t an impact piece immediately upon arriving in the NHL. The 2014 third-overall pick had just two goals and nine points in 37 games during his post-draft year. He developed into a high-end top-six piece over the coming years, routinely hitting over 20 goals and 70 points, but hadn’t quite captured the aura of a superstar.

That all changed in 2018-19. While the Oilers missed the playoffs for the 12th time in 13 years, it was a proper breakout campaign for Draisaitl, who led the team in goals (50) and finished second behind McDavid in points with 105. Since that season, Edmonton has made the playoffs every year, and Draisaitl has recorded or been on pace for over 100 points in an 82-game year. A two-time year-end All-Star, Draisaitl also took home the Art Ross, Hart, and Pearson awards/trophies during the 2019-20 season after leading the league with 67 assists and 110 points in 71 games.

The Cologne-born pivot is also one of the most prolific playoff performers in league history. His 108 points in 74 postseason games work out to 1.46 P/GP, which is fourth all-time among players with at least 50 games of playoff experience. Only Wayne Gretzky (1.84), Mario Lemieux (1.61), and McDavid (1.58) have produced more on a nightly basis when the games matter most. It’s especially impressive when considering Draisaitl has played through injuries for a good chunk of the past three postseasons.

For the rest of the league, they now have certainty that the best available potential 2025 unrestricted free agent won’t hit the open market. There’s a chance he could have landed even more money per season with the salary cap expected to rise to at least $92MM for 2025-26, but the total value likely would have been smaller with a seven-year maximum.

Even after declining to match the rich offer sheets levied by the Blues for Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway last month, Bowman and the Oilers now find themselves in a seriously precarious salary cap situation for 2025-26. They already have a projected cap hit of $77.4MM, per PuckPedia, leaving them $14.6MM to re-sign pending RFA defenseman Evan Bouchard and fill at least three other roster spots (assuming a $92MM upper limit). 38.9% of next season’s spending is already dedicated solely to Draisaitl, McDavid, and Darnell Nurse.

As such, the Oilers’ directive to win a championship in the Draisaitl/McDavid era is clearer than it’s ever been in 2024-25. After falling one game short of their first Stanley Cup in over 30 years a few months ago, they’ll need to retrace their steps and find their way back to the Cup Final.

They’ll be able to score their way there after reloading offensively by adding names like Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner in free agency. However, question marks will remain on defense outside of their star pairing of Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm. There isn’t a ton of stability behind them, and while trade acquisition Ty Emberson should be a cost-effective replacement for Cody Ceci, declining play from Nurse is a significant concern.

Draisaitl will play out 2023-24 under his previous contract, earning $8MM in actual salary in the final season of the eight-year, $68MM deal he signed coming off his entry-level contract in 2017.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Snapshots: Draisaitl, Zegras, Lee, Preseason Schedule

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Leon Draisaitl’s recent eligibility to sign a contract extension will be one of the bigger storylines late in the offseason, but it doesn’t appear there’s much of anything new to report since Stan Bowman took over the reins as general manager a couple of weeks ago, the executive said to NHL.com’s Derek Van Diest.

“I had a good conversation (with Draisaitl’s agent Mike Liut) and we’re starting things off and the timing on that will be what it will be,” Bowman said. “I don’t have an update of where it’s going to be or the timing on that, but there is nothing negative to report, certainly.”

The initial contact between Bowman and Draisaitl’s camp reignites extension talks that began back in June with acting GM Jeff Jackson. Draisaitl’s European-based agent, Jiri Poner, told a German news outlet early last month that the ball was in Edmonton’s court to make a competitive offer. Things seem on a slow but positive track for the German superstar, who’s coming off a 41-goal, 106-point campaign in 2023-24.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Ducks forward Trevor Zegras has continued to draw trade interest from around the league this summer, and some speculated a return to his New York home could be in the cards. That doesn’t appear to be the case, though, as Arthur Staple of The Athletic said in a recent mailbag that he doesn’t “think the Rangers have ever been interested in Zegras, much as the local kid would love to be a Ranger.”
  • There have been questions about Islanders captain Anders Lee’s future with the club after a trying campaign that saw him limited to 20 goals and 37 points in 81 games, his lowest offensive output in a healthy season since 2015-16. But it appears the 34-year-old is here to stay for the final two years of his contract at a $7MM cap hit, GM Lou Lamoriello told Staple. “You’re talking about a consummate pro: high integrity, high character, team first,” Lamoriello said. “I’d say he was one of our better players in the playoffs. That should answer any questions you might have — how he responded to whatever role he was asked to play.”
  • We’re just 46 days away from NHL hockey returning to laptops, radios and TVs. The league announced its complete composite preseason schedule today, which will kick off on Sep. 21 with a trio of games involving the Penguins and Sabres, the Blues and Stars, and the Wild and Jets. The Utah Hockey Club will take the ice for the first time in preseason action the following day, hosting the Blues for a neutral site game in Des Moines, Iowa. The preseason will run for two weeks, drawing to a close on Oct. 5.

Pacific Notes: Mylymok, Goure, Draisaitl, Canucks

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames, the Calgary Wranglers, made a pair of signings today as Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey reports the organization has signed forward Connor Mylymok to an AHL contract and has also signed forward Deni Goure to an AHL contract. Both players will be making their AHL debuts next season.

Mylymok is not unfamiliar with professional hockey as the youngster racked up three goals in 11 games with the Idaho Steelheads at the end of last season. After finishing off a two-year stretch with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks in which he scored four goals and 14 points in 47 games, the Jackson, MS native transferred to Niagara University last year. He achieved his most productive season with the Purple Eagles, scoring six goals and 11 points in 37 games.

The Wranglers should get more offensive proficiency from Goure who recently finished a five-year career with the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack. From 2019-24 (albeit losing the entire 2020-21 season), Goure suited up in 259 games for the Attack and was nearly a point-per-game player with 102 goals and 251 points. He’s a bit undersized at 5’10” but does play with a speed to his game that should transition nicely to the AHL.

Other Pacific notes:

  • Although there have been some rumblings behind Leon Draisaitl’s next extension with the Edmonton Oilers, it does not appear that a signing will happen anytime soon. Ryan Rishaug of TSN reports that the two sides have been in touch over the summer but negotiations on the extension have not commenced. The Oilers’ recent hiring of Stan Bowman to the general manager position may have delayed the signing. Still, the news is surprising as reports from earlier in the month indicated that Draisaitl and his agent were hoping for a deal to be done by the end of August.
  • Rick Tocchet and his fellow members of the Vancouver Canucks coaching staff are preparing for a three-day summit as referenced in an article from Thomas Drance of The Athletic (Subscription Article). The group’s primary focus is to address the Canucks offense for the 2024-25 NHL season and how best to score on the rush and make in-game counter adjustments. Opposing teams caught on to the fact that Vancouver’s offense was being run from the back by Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek, limiting their productivity for the rest of the season. Although the Canucks will still look for a fair bit of offense from their defensive core, Tocchet is looking to engage the entire group rather than having a one-dimensional scoring system.

Pacific Notes: Draisaitl, Olofsson, Connelly, Hedican

at CDT | by 3 Comments

One of the biggest extension narratives of the offseason has been the contract status of Edmonton Oilers’ superstar Leon Draisaitl. There is no guarantee that a deal will come to fruition this summer but all signs point to the two sides being able to work out a resolution at some point. Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal reported today that the contract could look a lot like that of star center Nathan MacKinnon, that is to say, an extremely bonus-laden deal with a low annual salary.

On September 20, 2022, the Colorado Avalanche signed MacKinnon to one of the richest deals in NHL history with an eight-year, $100.8MM contract. The term changes yearly, but the contract pays MacKinnon as low as $775K in salary and up to $15.725MM in signing bonus. Unsurprisingly, Draisaitl would be seeking a similar deal as it gives the player quite a bit of financial protection.

Signing bonuses gives players protection in two ways. First, it makes the contract buyout proof. If MacKinnon’s contract were bought out by the Avalanche in year one of his deal, for example, he would only be losing out on $775K that year while still receiving $15.725MM on July 1st. Additionally, the signing bonus also makes the contract lockout-proof. If the NHL were to enter a lockout in any year, Drasaitl would miss out on his yearly salary but still earn his signing bonus on July 1st.

The request for signing bonuses in high-ticket contracts is becoming more common for star players throughout the NHL world with the likes of Connor McDavid and John Tavares having similar contract structures. Now that Draisaitl comfortably finds himself in the upper echelon of NHL talent, the Oilers should be more than happy to agree to his terms.

Other Pacific notes:

  • In a wrap-up piece of the Vegas Golden Knights’ offseason, independent correspondent of the NHL, Paul Delos Santos suggests the Golden Knights could try out new forward Victor Olofsson on the team’s top line next to Jack Eichel. Olofsson spent quite a bit of time on Eichel’s wing during his rookie season with the Buffalo Sabres in 2019-20, and the Swedish had arguably the best season of his career. In only 54 games primarily playing next to Eichel, Olofsson scored 20 goals and 42 points and finished seventh in Calder Trophy voting. It could be risky business for Vegas as Olofsson fell down the depth chart in Buffalo but could be a high-reward move as the cap-strapped Golden Knights look to fill out their roster.
  • Staying in Vegas, there have been some rumblings that the team’s first-round pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, Trevor Connelly, may forego his commitment to Providence College and sign his entry-level contract with the Knights. However, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that is not the case and that Connelly will indeed honor his commitment to the Friars. Connelly is coming off a season in which he scored 31 goals and 78 points in 52 games for the Tri-City Storm of the USHL last year and will look to help Providence keep their head above water in a difficult Hockey East conference.
  • The Anaheim Ducks organization is bringing back a brief member of their defensive core. The team’s AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, announced former defenseman Bret Hedican has been hired as a senior development analyst. After retiring from the NHL as a member of the Ducks after the 2008-09 season, Hedican had been working in the broadcast department with the organization’s rival — the San Jose Sharks.

Poll: Who Will Win The 2024 Conn Smythe Trophy?

at CDT | by 7 Comments

The Edmonton Oilers have finally punched back in the Stanley Cup Finals, landing the uppercut of an 8-1 win to push off the announcement of a Stanley Cup champion for at least one more game. It was just the ninth time that a team has scored eight or more goals in the Stanley Cup Finals – a loss that stings a little extra for the Panthers, who also allowed the Vegas Golden Knights to score a record-setting nine goals in last year’s Cup-clinching Game 5. Edmonton achieved the feat on the back of a historic performance from superstar Connor McDavid who, with three assists in Game 4, reached 32 assists to break Wayne Gretzky’s record for assists in a single postseason. McDavid’s record-breaking performance, as well as Sergei Bobrovsky’s Cup Finals benching, throws a major wrench into the list of Conn Smythe Trophy candidates, regardless of the Cup winner.

In a debate between a stifling McDavid and a struggling Bobrovsky, it seems Aleksander Barkov would be the de facto beneficiary. Barkov – the reigning Selke Trophy winner – has closely shadowed McDavid for most of the Cup finals so far, doing as well as any player could to keep McDavid close before Florida’s breakdown in Game 4. Barkov has added four points in four Cup finals games as well, bringing his postseason totals up to a team-leading 21 points in 21 games. Barkov has been perhaps the biggest piece of Florida’s success both this postseason and across the last few seasons as a whole. Barkov has shown elite two-way ability throughout this postseason, likely earning him a spot above any other Panthers skater in the Conn Smythe debate. But there’s no arguing the hefty impact Bobrovsky has brought to these playoffs. He was boasting a .916 save percentage through 20 games before his abhorrent Game 4, when he allowed five goals on just 17 shots. Bobrovsky is also a finalist for the Vezina Trophy and could cement a ’Hall of Fame’ legacy with a win of both the Vezina and the Cup.

Of course, the Oilers boast two prime Conn Smythe candidates of their own in McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Florida is just three periods away from a Stanley Cup win, while the Oilers will need at least nine, significantly hampering Edmonton’s chance of taking home playoff MVP. After all, a member of the losing team hasn’t won a Conn Smythe since Jean-Sebastien Giguere in 2003. But McDavid’s rivaling – and likely soon topping – of 40 playoff points could be enough to warrant the nod. That feat has only been managed by two other players – three times by Gretzky and once by Mario Lemieux. Crossing 40 points has resulted in a Conn Smythe win in three of those four cases, though Gretzky lost the 1993 trophy to Patrick Roy. If not McDavid to buck the trend, then Draisaitl is certainly a strong candidate – boasting 30 points in 22 playoff games and willing the Oilers through the first two rounds with unprecedented scoring.

The list of Conn Smythe candidates has come down to just a few, though who could take home the hardware seems up in the air after a shocking Game 4. And while the decision will, of course, lean on which team wins – it could also come down to deciding between history and precedent. So, with finalists in mind, who do you think will take home the Conn Smythe Trophy? Tell us in the poll below, and discuss in the comments.

Mobile users click here!

Oilers Open Extension Negotiations With Leon Draisaitl

at CDT | by 7 Comments

The Edmonton Oilers have a stressful summer ahead, with 12 pending free agents currently a part of their Stanley Cup run and just $10MM in projected cap space. That’s enough of a headache – but to add to it, the team will have to keep in mind the major paychecks due to their superstars over the next two summers. Both Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard will need new deals in 2025, while Connor McDavid will challenge contract records once again in 2026. Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff recently joined Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer to discuss the looming payday, projecting that the trio of stars will cost a total of $40MM when all is said and done. Seravalli broke that down to $16MM going to McDavid, $14MM going to Draisaitl, and $10MM going to Bouchard.

Seravalli went on to discuss Draisaitl’s looming negotiations in-depth, sharing that the star German forward is interested in signing a long-term deal near the league maximum – as opposed to a short-term and relatively cheaper deal like Auston Matthews’ four-year, $53MM contract. At 28, a long-term deal would take Draisaitl through the majority of his remaining career and cement his place as career batterymate of McDavid. Seravalli believes the Oilers have already opened discussions of an extension with Draisaitl’s camp, as they look to both lock up their core and chip into their looming bills as quickly as possible.

Should these projections hold true, the Oilers would need to ensure they had $24MM to go to Draisaitl and Bouchard next summer. The league salary cap is projected to reach $92MM ahead of the 2025-26 season, per CapFriendly, after seeing a record-tying $4.5MM increase to $88MM this summer. Another increase would go a long way toward helping Edmonton’s budgeting. The Oilers don’t have many players entering free agency in 2025, and get a bit of a boost by Cody Ceci’s $3.25MM cap hit coming off the books, but they’ll again have to look towards the future, with Evander Kane, Stuart Skinner, Mattias Ekholm, and Brett Kulak set to join McDavid in 2026’s free agency class.

Edmonton boasts an exciting opportunity to lock in three franchise cornerstones as career Oilers. It’s hard to argue a case against any of them – the trio currently leads Edmonton in postseason scoring and would likely compete for the Conn Smythe Trophy should Edmonton turn the series around. Bouchard’s emergence as a true top defenseman, capable of playing upwards of 25 minutes a night, has propelled Edmonton into a team capable of being carried by their star talent, while Draisaitl has emerged as one of the few players in the NHL capable of rivaling McDavid’s scoring. The Oilers seem plenty aware of those accolades and are now taking the first steps towards securing their future by kicking off contract talks with Draisaitl.

Cup Final Notes: Suspensions, Barkov, Nurse, Ekblad, Luostarinen

at CDT | by 31 Comments

Don’t expect supplemental discipline to be announced today for a pair of Oilers forwards that laid controversial hits in last night’s Game 2 loss. Leon Draisaitl’s check to the head of Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov that knocked him out of the game will go unpunished past the two-minute minor assessed on the play, TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports. Warren Foegele also won’t receive a suspension for his knee-on-knee hit on Eetu Luostarinen that got him tossed from the game in the first period, per ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski.

That’s good news for an Edmonton squad that needs to battle back from a 2-0 series deficit as the series shifts to their ice later this week. The Oilers became the first team since the Penguins in 2008 to score one goal or less in the first two games of a Stanley Cup Final. While they were dominant but stymied by Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky in their Game 1 loss, Game 2 saw Florida’s defense limit the Oilers to 19 shots on goal and no high-danger chances at even strength. Draisaitl, in particular, would be a huge loss – he’s second on the club in playoff goals (10) and points (28) in 20 games.

Other updates from the Cup Final:

  • While Draisaitl will be available for Game 3, Barkov is a question mark. Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said today that his first-line center isn’t feeling any worse this morning after taking the German forward’s elbow to his jaw area but will undergo further evaluation tomorrow (via Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards). The team hasn’t confirmed the nature of Barkov’s injury, but speculation indicates he’s likely in concussion protocol. Barkov, 28, is tied for the team lead in postseason scoring with 19 points in 19 games and has averaged 21:31 per game, second to Sam Reinhart among Florida forwards.
  • Speaking to reporters via Zoom this morning, Oilers bench boss Kris Knoblauch had no update on the status of defenseman Darnell Nurse (per NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika). The much-maligned blue liner missed significant chunks of last night’s loss after taking an awkward hit from Panthers winger Evan Rodrigues late in the first period (video link). Nurse has just three assists and a -15 rating in 20 postseason contests thus far, and his potential absence for Game 3 would make way for Cody Ceci to re-enter the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the first time as an Oiler in Game 2.
  • Luostarinen and defenseman Aaron Ekblad both missed chunks of Game 2 with respective lower-body injuries, but they’ll be good to go moving forward, Maurice confirmed this morning (via the team’s Jameson Olive). Luostarinen wasn’t able to put any weight on his left leg while being helped off the ice after his collision with Foegele but managed to return before the end of the period. Ekblad, meanwhile, twisted his ankle awkwardly after getting tangled up with Oilers star Connor McDavid but still logged nearly 23 minutes of action in last night’s win.

Leon Draisaitl Will Be Game-Time Decision For Game 2

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Sportsnet is reporting that Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl will be a game-time decision tonight when the Oilers take on the Vancouver Canucks in Game 2 of their second-round series. The report comes one day after Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch told the media that Draisaitl was day-to-day after he’d missed practice. The 28-year-old left halfway through Game 1 but ultimately returned for the third period in the Oilers 5-4 loss. After the game, Knoblauch told reporters that Draisaitl had been dealing with equipment issues and cramping that caused him to miss significant time.

The Cologne, Germany native is once again playing dominant hockey in the playoffs and his injury comes at a time when the Oilers haven’t been able to generate much offense at even strength. Draisaitl has five goals and seven assists in six playoff games thus far and has carried the scoring for the Oilers alongside Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman and Evan Bouchard.

Draisaitl will take the warm-up with the Oilers and a decision will be made afterward on whether he can play. Some pundits have speculated that he suffered an injury when he took a shot to the back from Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers. The hit didn’t look like much as Draisaitl was able to maintain possession of the puck, but it could have him in a spot where he didn’t have padding.

It’s not the first time he’s dealt with health issues in the playoffs, two years ago Draisaitl played through a high-ankle sprain that he suffered in the first round. He continued to play through the pain and was dominant offensively, although his defensive game fell off as he struggled to keep up with the play in the defensive zone.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top