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‘I am concerned’: Leon Draisaitl answers questions following Oilers’ playoff exit
Leon Draisaitl Edmonton Oilers post-season presser
baggedmilk
May 2, 2026, 13:45 EDTUpdated: May 2, 2026, 15:40 EDT
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Leon Draisaitl didn’t need many words to make a very loud point in his season-ending press conference today after the Edmonton Oilers’ first-round playoff exit created more questions than answers.
After a season that was very bumpy along the way and ended earlier than expected, Draisaitl met with the media and was incredibly honest about how he feels about the team. The Oilers took a step back. Their defensive play was nowhere near good enough. And with Connor McDavid signed for only two more seasons, the pressure to get this right is growing by the day.
When asked about the direction of the team, Leon Draisaitl didn’t pull any punches.
“Yes, I am concerned. Some of that leads into the players into how we played. I think we have to form moments in the regular season where you play the right way and win the right way. But I am concerned that we took a step back this year.”
Not ideal, right? Ears are going to perk up when your second best player and former-MVP says the team took a step backward after making back-to-back runs to the Stanley Cup Final. Draisaitl didn’t call out anyone in particular, but he also wasn’t pretending this season was good enough. And based on what we watched, how could he? The biggest question I had after hearing this quote was who was he talking about? Can’t just be the players he’s talking about, right?

THE OILERS TOOK A STEP BACK

For as much talent as the Oilers still have, this season never really felt like it got past first base. The Oilers could score, but they couldn’t keep pucks out of their net to save their lives. Defending was a problem all year, and when the games got tighter and more important, the Oilers couldn’t elevate the way they kept telling us they would.
All season long, there were stretches where Edmonton looked dangerous enough to make noise in the playoffs, but there were also too many nights where the same mistakes kept showing up. They made it through the regular season and into the playoffs, but it’s not like there were many shining team moments beyond some fantastic individual performances. Those habits do not magically disappear in April, and in the end, those were the details that killed them.

THE McDAVID TIMELINE MATTERS

Draisaitl was also asked about the injured Connor McDavid having two years left on his new deal, and his answer didn’t exactly give you the warm and fuzzies.
“In what world do you have the best player in the world on your team and you’re not looking to win? I know we are looking to win. But we need to be better. We have to be better. There is no way around it, and we have to improve. He’s signed for two more years, and God knows where that goes, but we have two years here as of right now. We have two years. And we have to get significantly better.”
The Oilers still have McDavid and Draisaitl. They still have high-end pieces. This is not a rebuild situation, and pretending otherwise would be ridiculous. But that doesn’t change the fact that they have to be better. It doesn’t change that Stan Bowman has to do a better job of finding players who can actually work here. He should confirm that his coach knows how to put the puzzle together.
Everything in this organization needs to be looked at. That means the players. That means the coaching staff. And it absolutely means Stan Bowman and the front office, who have to use this off-season properly after the last couple of free agency periods produced more questions than answers. Cap space only matters if it gets used well, and with a very real deadline coming with the best player on earth, they don’t have the margin to screw this up.

DRAISAITL ON HIS OWN GAME

Of course, Draisaitl didn’t talk like all the problems were elsewhere. Leon also acknowledged there were things in his game that he needed to work on and fix.
“I wasn’t happy with my defensive play this year. I thought it slipped from last year and got away from me a bit. I can only speak for myself, but I think our team took a step back in small areas of defending. It is something we need to be better at next year.”
Draisaitl owned his part, but he also connected it to the bigger issue. The Oilers were not sharp enough in the small areas, especially defensively, and that was one of the reasons their season ended in six games.
“We’re not going into games or series thinking this is a walk in the park. You never think like that as an athlete. But maybe we lost a little bit of that fire that we had the last two years. I don’t think we took it (what it takes to win) for granted, but we let it slip a bit.”
I know a lot is going to be made of these quotes, and I absolutely understand why, but what I can’t stop thinking about is what kind of plan the management team can come up with to fix the situation. These are some cold hard truths from Draisaitl, and it’s not great to hear him say what we’ve all been thinking.

THE PRESSURE IS ON

The Oilers do not need to tear everything down, but they also can’t come back in September with the same glaring issues and expect a different result. Draisaitl was incredibly candid about his concerns, and those words should have everyone at the OEG offices feeling the heat. He said the team took a step back. He said they have two years left with McDavid signed, and they have to get better.
There is no mystery here.
Now it falls on everyone involved to respond properly. The players need to clean up their game. The coaching situation needs to get sorted out. And Stan Bowman needs to make sure whatever money he has to spend this summer actually fixes problems instead of creating new ones. Because this cannot be another off-season where the Oilers talk themselves into being close enough. They weren’t anywhere near good enough. Draisaitl basically said as much.
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