Why it’s time to start appreciating Leon Draisaitl as a legitimate Hart Trophy candidate

On By Littum

EDMONTON — If there was a single moment that epitomized just how great Leon Draisaitl has been this season and how much he’s meant to the Edmonton Oilers, look no further than Monday night.

Only one goal was scored in a 1-0 win over the rival Los Angeles Kings, and Draisaitl picked up just one secondary assist — the type of credit that was often all but ignored as insignificant.

This helper was anything but.

“Massive game that we needed,” Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner said.

It was captain Connor McDavid who scored the pivotal goal, scoring his 17th marker on his 28th birthday. All he did was put in a rebound.

It was tough blueliner Darnell Nurse who picked up the primary assist. His contribution was being ready to take a Draisaitl pass and blast a solid attempt on net, only to have it stopped by Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper.

Instead, it was Draisaitl who did all the work to make this four-on-four goal happen.

It looked like he simply wasn’t going to be denied from the moment the puck bounced over Kings wing Trevor Moore’s stick at the Oilers’ blue line.

Moore had a half-zone lead, but Draisaitl was flying. He was going up against a striker, a flat-footed one to boot. This was a blood-in-water situation for an offensively driven Shark like Draisaitl.

“I had my momentum that way so I thought maybe I could win that race or get inside him,” he said. “I just took a chance.”

Draisaitl had already been on the ice for 1:17 when he took off. He looked like he was just starting his shift judging by the way he caught Moore at the far blue line and knocked the puck loose.

Draisaitl was given possession at the goal line, where he stopped to assess things. Moore attacked him and Draisaitl grabbed so suddenly and with so much force that Moore will have nightmares about what happened.

It was hockey’s answer to breaking a basketball defenseman’s ankles. Moore became entangled in his own feet and fell on his back, his cane flailing helplessly. Draisaitl was in complete control.

He slipped behind the net, protected the puck and passed it between the Kings’ Vladislav Gavrikov and Quinton Byfield to Nurse for the scoring chance. The Oilers scored their only goal within two seconds. McDavid celebrated at 18:37 of the second period.

“The biggest (play he made) was on the goal,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “He’s been out there for about a minute and a half. He’s still got the speed and the strength to win a race and a game.”

McDavid hit Nurse and pointed his stick at Draisaitl.

“Great game,” McDavid told him.

McDavid undersold it. It was a phenomenal game.

“That was the way he was able to trap Moore, create a fight and then just wear him out,” Skinner said. “Moore played it really well. Leon just with his strength was able to take it away from him and made a nice play for Doc.”

The play was Draisaitl’s season in a nutshell.

“You see a player who does the same things but brings kind of a different vibe,” Skinner said. “He comes out and skates hard every single night. He’s really leading the charge.”

Is he ever.

McDavid remained the favorite for the Hart Trophy when the odds were updated by BetOnline.ag on January 6 (Draisaitl was sixth). It’s not like the three-time winner doesn’t deserve to be in the conversation. He certainly does. McDavid has 59 points in 40 games. He has done nothing to diminish his status as the league’s best player.

But Draisaitl has been the Oilers’ best player this season. Period. It is difficult to argue otherwise.

Draisaitl leads the NHL in goals with 31, even strength with 24 and game winners with nine. He is second in points with 64.

His 65.5 five-on-five shooting percentage ranks first among Oilers regulars, according to Natural Stat Trick. His 1.68 goals against per 60 minutes in that match mode is elite, especially impressive for someone of his offensive stature. He has won 56.5 percent of his faceoffs.

“He’s playing as well as I’ve ever seen,” McDavid said. “He’s really dug in on both ends of the rink — scoring goals, making plays, winning draws, making draws.”

Draisaitl has also done it with Vasily Podkolzin as his most common linemate. Podkolzin has proven to be a fine summer pickup by GM Stan Bowman based on his smarts and physicality, but an offensive force he is not.

It would be unfair to suggest that Draisaitl is unequivocally the best choice for the Hart Trophy right now.

Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck has as many shutouts (six) as losses and is blowing away his like-minded peers. With and without the stats for Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes are astounding. Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov is right there. Reigning MVP Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche has been just as good this season, also leading the league in scoring. The latter two players are the Oilers’ next opponents.


Connor McDavid protects the puck against Jordan Spence. (Perry Nelson/Imagn Images)

But Draisaitl deserves to be in the mix and even ahead of McDavid, the recipient of his excellent work on Monday. The 2020 Hart winner is well on his way to his fourth 50-goal and sixth 100-point campaign.

“I don’t know how much more you can do to be considered one of the best in the world,” Oilers winger Zach Hyman said. “This year is not a statement year. It’s just who he is and he’s one of the best in the world.

“It doesn’t matter – put him on any team, he’s one of the best in the world. He’s special, generational, however you want to define it – at any time of the year. He lifts in the playoffs to another level .I’m just very lucky to be on his team and that he’s been locked up for a long time here.”

Knoblauch felt the turning point in Draisaitl’s season came when McDavid suffered an ankle injury in the first shift of an Oct. 28 game in Columbus. Draisaitl responded with back-to-back 3-point efforts, pushing the Oilers to a pair of wins.

“Obviously, it’s an opportunity for him to step up. Everything is on his shoulders,” Knoblauch said. “He was outstanding. He never looked back. He continues to be outstanding.”

The Oilers had a couple of exceptional performances on Monday.

Defenseman Ty Emberson took another positive step, playing 17:06. He was physical and composed and saved a goal in the first period.

Skinner made a crucial stop in the first period, robbing the Kings’ Adrian Kempe on a two-on-one before the game was five minutes old. The Oilers got off to a slow start, and the result is likely different without that save — one of 31 Skinner made in the game. This was the second start in the last three he has blown an opponent.

And then there was Draisaitl. He won 16 of 25 draws. He ran the play at five-on-five. The Oilers outscored the Kings 16-11 and outscored them 27-19 in the 18:10 Draisaitl skated five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Oh, and then there was that goal. Draisaitl didn’t score it, but he deserves more credit than anyone for the puck going in.

For Knoblauch, Monday’s performance was just the latest and greatest example of Draisaitl’s excellence this season.

“It’s been as good as I’ve seen him play right now,” the coach said. “He went through stretches last year where he dominated but (didn’t) play as well as he has for this long stretch.”

(Top photo: Perry Nelson / Imagn Images)