There’s nobody quite like Leon.
Oilers fans have been blessed over the years with incredible talents, and Leon Draisiatl has been the latest to roll through the City of Champions, becoming a champion in his own right. He added another feather to his cap Saturday night, continuing to add to his legacy, as he racked up his fourth career 50-goal season with a huge two-goal performance against the Calgary Flames.
Couple those goals — his 50th and 51st which were the game-tying and game-winning markers — with an assist earlier in the game, and Draisaitl, in his first game back from a four-game absence due to injury, did it all in the Oilers’ 3-2 overtime win.
It almost seemed as if those missed games had taken him out of the conversation for his second career Hart Trophy, but his huge performance on Hockey Night in Canada should get him back in the mix, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said.
“Very impressive for many reasons,” said Knoblauch. “Hadn’t played for a week or so and was questionable coming in.
“I figured long-term, maybe he should have an extra day off or a few more days to play in that Vegas game, but he came a little bit early, and in on all three goals, and not only on all three goals, but some pretty nice plays at key moments. Probably the biggest one was the tying goal coming down the wing and sniping that, but I’m sure he garnered a few votes for some hardware after this season, I would imagine.”
When you talk about the lore of Draisaitl, it’s important to note he was never supposed to be this good. Sure, he was a third-overall pick, but he was always looked at as more of a playmaker than a goal-scorer. A Joe Thornton, if you will, with his combination of size, strength and smarts on the ice.
So when Draisaitl had his first 50-goal season, it surprised many. It was his fourth full season in the NHL — his second on his $8.5-million AAV deal — and he had a massive breakout campaign, not only hitting said goal plateau, but the 100-point mark, too.
It was easy to think at the time this could’ve been an anomalous scoring season, but all Draisaitl’s ever done is continue to rack up goals, now totalling 323 in 519 games since the start of that 2018-19 season. For those counting at home, he and Auston Matthews are tied in goals since the start of that season, as the only two to score over 300 with the next closest David Pastrnak at 289.
“There’s not many pass-first 50-goal scorers. He’s one of them,” said Draisaitl’s teammate Darnell Nurse. “His vision for the game, the way he sees the game, his head is second to none, and I think on top of that, when you’re passing and seeing the game the way he does, he’ll find open space and opportunities to get your shot off.
“He’s worked on his shot and scoring goals from tough areas, too. It’s night in and night out he does things for our group that are really special.”
Draisaitl, meanwhile, was a man of few words Saturday night, deflecting talk about his 50th goal to those around him — Evan Bouchard, who made a brilliant cross-ice pass to spring him, and Zach Hyman.
“That’s elite hockey sense,” he said of the pass that landed on his tape. “That kick started the entire play and then Hyman actually made a really nice subtle play on the defenceman’s stick to give me the time to change the angle a bit. Lots of good plays on that goal.”
It’s been many years of hard work for Draisaitl, who has a chance — albeit a slim one — of one day catching the NHL all-time goals record.
Whatever way the wind blows, there’s no denying Draisaitl will go down as one of the greatest to ever do it. He’s now become the 15th player in NHL history to have four or more 50 goal seasons, the second active player to do so alongside Alexander Ovechkin (nine times), joining the likes of Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy, with nine each; Mario Lemieux, Marcel Dionne and Guy Lafleur with six each; Pavel Bure, Brett Hull, Steve Yzerman, Phil Esposito and Bobby Hull with five each; and Tim Kerr, Jari Kurri and Michel Goulet with four each. With Ovechkin a lock for the Hall of Fame, Kerr is the only non-Hall of Fame player on that list.
That’s good company for Draisaitl to keep.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.
