The Edmonton Oilers’ push for the playoffs will have to continue without one of the league’s best players.

The club announced Tuesday afternoon that centre Leon Draisaitl would miss the remainder of the regular season with a lower-body injury sustained Sunday night against the Nashville Predators.

Draisaitl was left shaken up in the first period after taking a seemingly innocuous hit from Predators winger Ozzy Wiesblatt along the boards. Wiesblatt laid a hit on Draisaitl that saw him collide with the boards, and immediately sent him limping down the tunnel to the Oilers locker room.

He would return later in the period for two shifts — one lasting 52 seconds and another 41 seconds — but he wouldn’t return in the second or third periods.

After the game, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said there were no “immediate red flags” from the training staff following Draisaitl’s two shifts, but indicated he could miss some time.

“He got checked out, didn’t feel right… felt like he could play on it,” said Knoblauch after the Oilers held on for a 3-1 win. “The medical staff looked at him, and they were comfortable with him trying it out.

“He went out, and he just didn’t feel quite right. The fact the medical staff said ‘it didn’t seem too bad, no immediate red flags,’ tell me it shouldn’t be a really long injury. There might be some time off, but we’ll find out later.”

As it turns out, there was more to be concerned with — so much so that the team has shut him down for the Oilers’ remaining 14 games of the regular season.

Draisaitl has missed few games during his career, and has often been highlighted as a player with a high pain threshold and an ability to play through injuries. He did so playing on a sprained ankle in the 2022 playoffs, and in the 2024 playoffs, a broken rib and a broken finger.

The German missed 11 games toward the end of the 2024-25 season, including the final seven regular season games, but has otherwise missed only a handful of games in his career.

Edmonton will begin life without Draisaitl Tuesday night when they host the San Jose Sharks.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s managing editor, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the Daily Faceoff DFS Hockey Report. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.