Welcome to my annual player review series, where I dive into the Edmonton Oilers season player-by-player. We’ll look back at the season that was, what kind of impact each player had, and what we could see from them next season. You can read about the analytics behind my analysis here.
Leon Draisaitl: Electric Factory.
It was another big year for the big German, scoring 41 goals and 106 points in 81 regular season games, adding another 10 markers and 31 points in 25 playoff games. The Oilers got as close as they could to winning the whole thing, and Draisaitl was a big reason why.
Historically, Draisaitl has been a player whose underlying numbers have never been great. But last year, there was a shift. The Oilers shot attempt share with him on the ice at 5v5 eclipsed 55 percent for the first time in his career, as did his expected goal share percentage and the scoring chance share. While some may still scoff at these kind of numbers in general, the proof is in the pudding that positive results follow, and boy did they ever for Draisaitl. The Oilers outscored the opposition 76-49 with Draisaitl on the ice, a +27 share that is a career-high mark. The good news? All these numbers remained strong in his minutes away from Connor McDavid.
Draisaitl’s isolated impacts were strong, too, providing value well above that of a first-line player, according to HockeyViz. He drove play offensively at a 10 percent rate above league average, defence at a one percent rate below league average, and power play work at a six percent rate above league.
To reward it all? He got a shiny new eight-year, $14-million AAV contract that kicks after this season.
Edmonton will need another big year from Draisaitl, who now has the best linemates he’s ever had in Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson, and he’ll surely be able to live up to the lofty expectations.
LEON DRAISAITL’S CAREER SO FAR
Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
2012-13 | Prince Albert Raiders | WHL | 64 | 21 | 37 | 58 | 22 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
2013-14 | Prince Albert Raiders | WHL | 64 | 38 | 67 | 105 | 24 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
2014-15 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 37 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 4 | -17 | — | — | — | — | — |
2014-15 | Kelowna Rockets 🏆 | WHL | 32 | 19 | 34 | 53 | 25 | 14 | 19 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 12 |
2015-16 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -5 | — | — | — | — | — |
2015-16 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 72 | 19 | 32 | 51 | 20 | -2 | — | — | — | — | — |
2016-17 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 82 | 29 | 48 | 77 | 20 | 7 | 13 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 19 |
2017-18 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 78 | 25 | 45 | 70 | 30 | -7 | — | — | — | — | — |
2018-19 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 82 | 50 | 55 | 105 | 52 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
2019-20 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 71 | 43 | 67 | 110 | 18 | -7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
2020-21 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 56 | 31 | 53 | 84 | 22 | 29 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
2021-22 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 80 | 55 | 55 | 110 | 40 | 17 | 16 | 7 | 25 | 32 | 6 |
2022-23 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 80 | 52 | 76 | 128 | 24 | 7 | 12 | 13 | 5 | 18 | 10 |
2023-24 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 81 | 41 | 65 | 106 | 76 | 26 | 25 | 10 | 21 | 31 | 14 |
2024-25 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | Statistics Unavailable | ||||||||||
NHL Totals | 719 | 347 | 503 | 850 | 306 | 74 | 41 | 67 | 108 | 51 |
PLAYERS REVIEWED SO FAR
- Warren Foegele
- Ryan McLeod
- Sam Carrick
- Vincent Desharnais
- Sam Gagner
- Adam Erne
- Adam Henrique
- Philip Broberg
- Mattias Janmark
- Troy Stecher
- Connor Brown
- Corey Perry
- Raphael Lavoie
- Brett Kulak
- Connor McDavid
- Darnell Nurse
- Derek Ryan
- Evan Bouchard
- Evander Kane
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.