WITH OR WITHOUT YOU
By Lowetide
7 years ago
Math experts tell me that we have to wait 20 games in order to begin to trust our suspicions—which means we are close to being able to express real concern about specific items. Up first on my list? Leon Draisaitl’s 5×5 offense. (Photo by Mark Williams, all rights reserved)
WITH OR WITHOUT YOU
Leon Draisaitl came right to the NHL in the fall of 2014, so we have been able to see his progress in parts of three NHL seasons. When Edmonton traded Taylor Hall in the summer, most observers felt Leon might have an adjustment period. Why? Let’s consider Leon 2014-15 and 2015-16 with and without Hall:
- Leon with Taylor Hall 2014-16: 13-22-35 in 916:34 (2.29 5×5 points per 60)
- Leon w/o Taylor Hall 2014-16: 2-7-9 in 520:12 (1.04 5×5 points per 60)
- Source
Now, that is maybe a little unfair, as many of those minutes (350) away from Hall took place in Leon’s rookie year (which finished with the center back in the WHL). This season, without Hall, Draisaitl has been with several different mates and the numbers at 5×5 are down quite a bit:
- Leon in 2016-17: 0-4-4 in 211:02 (1.14 5×5 points per 60)
- Source
Now, I am not trumpeting the alarm here, and Leon is scoring well on the power play (2-1-3) and is 16gp, 3-5-8 overall this year. Back in the summer, I wrote about some concern about Leon not having established himself at the NHL level.
- I think this could be a challenging year for
Draisaitl, depending on where he lands. His last three seasons are
marked by wild swings in performance and deployment, so the margin for
error is vast. Source
The young man found an easier path as a complementary player on a line with Hall last season, and is finding it difficult to produce offense at even strength with his current wingers (Milan Lucic, Jesse Puljujarvi, Tyler Pitlick, others).
We are approaching 20 games and Connor McDavid’s line is the only one pumping in goals (and the 4line is probably the most dangerous line outside of 97). I am sure Todd McLellan will find a solution to this problem, but this is the point in the year where we should expect some juggling and possibly some time on RW.
It is time to get going.
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