Year in Review: Leon Draisaitl still needs to prove he can carry his own line

After a breakout season and incredible playoff performance, Leon Draisaitl was awarded a massive eight-year contract worth $68 million. It was a big chunk of cash to hand out, but, at the time, it was expected Draisaitl was going to help form a Crosby-Malkin calibre down the middle behind Connor McDavid.

Right or wrong, fair or unfair, that contract will now shape how we view Draisaitl moving forward. In his first season after signing the deal, Draisaitl didn’t quite live up to the lofty expectations of his $8.5 million cap hit.

At a quick glance, Draisaitl had a good season in 2017-18. He scored 70 points in 75 games, good for 34th in the league in scoring, his .90 points-per-game was just slightly below his total from 2016-17, and he had some of the best underlying shot metrics on the team. So, yeah, at a quick glance, that’s a good season.

But the discussion around Draisaitl can’t simply end there. Prior to signing his big contract, it had been pointed out that Draisaitl had never produced offence at a high level away from another elite, play-driving forward. In 2015-16, he spent a good chunk of time with Taylor Hall and enjoyed a successful season. In 2016-17, he and Connor McDavid found chemistry and formed one of the best lines in the NHL.

The only time that Draisaitl showed an ability to carry his own line was during the 2017 playoffs. Draisaitl, during that playoff run, was undoubtedly Edmonton’s best player. Of course, a lot of this has to do with Connor McDavid being shadowed by Joe Pavelski and Ryan Kesler, two very good veteran defensive centres, but Draisaitl was an absolute force, putting up 16 points in 13 playoff games.

He wasn’t that same force for the Oilers in 2017-18, though, which is why I say he didn’t live up to that $8.5 million cap hit. When Peter Chiarelli gave Driasaitl that big contract, he was doing so based on the thought that the player Draisaitl was in the playoffs was the Draisaitl of the future. He was paid like a top-line centre, one who could drive a line, and, like I said earlier, form that Pittsburgh-esque one-two punch with McDavid.

As impressive and successful as 70 points in 75 games appears on the surface, unfortunately, Draisaitl was largely a product of McDavid.

McDavid and Draisaitl spent 498:33 together at even strength this season. During that time, the duo posted an extremely good 57.4 Goals For percentage, meaning they heavily outscored their opponents. In the time they spent apart? McDavid was still excellent, posting a 57.8 GF% while Draisaitl wasn’t on the ice with him. Draisaitl, in the 628:15 he played with McDavid on the bench, managed just a 42.4 GF%. That isn’t very good. It was the same deal during the 2016-17 season. In 2016-17, McDavid and Draisaitl posted a 59.4 GF% together and Draisaitl posted a 44.2 GF% by himself.

I’ll give Draisaitl the benefit of the doubt here, though, because Edmonton’s wingers were terrible last season. While Draisaitl’s on-ice goal numbers away from McDavid were thoroughly unspectacular, his shot and scoring chance numbers were solid. Draisaitl’s even strength shot attempt differential away from McDavid was a respectable 50.4% and his scoring chance differential was a decent 49.7%. After McDavid, Draisaitl’s most frequent winger linemates last year were Patrick Maroon, who was good, and Milan Lucic, Drake Caggiula, and Mike Cammalleri who, uh, weren’t. So, to be fair to Draisaitl, he didn’t get much help from the wings when he was the team’s second centre last year.

Was it a disaster of a season for Draisaitl? No, absolutely not. Not even close. He’s still a very good player and, at the very least, is an elite winger playing alongside McDavid. The issue is, though, is that Edmonton needs him to be a good centre behind McDavid in order for the team to reach its full potential.

The Oilers were a trainwreck without McDavid on the ice last season. If they’re going to contend for a Stanley Cup, Leon Draisaitl will need to play a bigger role than McDavid’s very good wingman. Instead, Leon Draisaitl needs to be the guy who dominates when McDavid is off the ice like he did back during the team’s 2017 playoff run. He’s only 22 years old, so I think it’s fair to say that the best of Draisaitl is yet to come.