Leon Draisaitl is heading into 2026-27 with the same familiar label attached to him: one of the league’s true difference-makers. Last season was another huge one for the Edmonton Oilers center, who piled up 35 goals and 97 points in 65 games before a lower-body injury on March 15 against the Nashville Predators ended his regular season early.
The injury came after a hit from Predators forward Ozzy Wiesblatt. At the time, Draisaitl was sitting fourth in league scoring and was tracking toward his seventh 100-point season, which would have been his fifth in a row.
He finished ninth in scoring, then kept rolling in the playoffs with three goals and 10 points in six games, even as Edmonton fell in the first round.
The Oilers have been living in a heavy workload cycle after back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Final, so the extra summer may have helped Draisaitl as much as anyone. If he arrives at camp rested and sharp, Edmonton gets exactly what it always wants from him: a star who can drive the offense and carry a line through the grind of a long season.
What makes Draisaitl so valuable is that he doesn’t just produce - he lifts the players around him. Vasily Podkolzin and Kasperi Kapanen don’t normally scream “top six,” but they found real traction on Draisaitl’s second line.
The fit was clean. Draisaitl supplies the elite touch and that punishing shot, Kapanen brings speed and juice, and Podkolzin does the dirty work with edge and physical play.
That trio has clicked so well that it could be Edmonton’s second line on opening night. Ideally, Kapanen would slide to the third line, but Matt Savoie’s injury could keep the Finnish winger in the top six.
The numbers back up how often Draisaitl has had to adapt while Connor McDavid has enjoyed more stable company. McDavid’s main wingers, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman, logged 388:57 together at 5-on-5 last season, by far the most of any Edmonton trio.
Draisaitl’s most-used combinations were more fluid. He spent 184:57 with Podkolzin and Jack Roslovic, 140:36 with Podkolzin and Kapanen, and 101:28 with Podkolzin and Savoie.
The message is pretty clear: Draisaitl can make almost any mix work, and he did it while McDavid’s line stayed largely intact.
That ripple effect showed up in production, too. Podkolzin set a career high with 19 goals after scoring eight the year before.
Kapanen scored eight goals in just 41 injury-hit games and was on pace for 16. Roslovic scored 21 in only 69 games.
Savoie turned in a breakout rookie season. Put simply, everyone who spent time with Draisaitl got a boost, and there’s little reason to think that changes now.
The ceiling for 2026-27 is as high as ever. If he stays healthy, a 50-goal, 120-point season is squarely in play, and he should be right there among the league’s top five scorers.
There is one area where he wasn’t quite as sharp last season, though: clutch scoring. Draisaitl had only three game-winning goals, his fewest since 2017-18.
The season before, he had 11, which stands as his career high. He has hit 11 game-winners three times, and that kind of finish is still in his range.
He remains elite in the faceoff circle, too. Draisaitl has finished above 50 percent in the dot in each of his last nine seasons, and he posted a 56.9 percent mark last year to match his career best from 2023-24.
Edmonton has also leaned on him for faceoffs more than anyone else for nine straight seasons, especially on the power play and in late-game situations. That usage should stay the same, and the 30-year-old should keep delivering at a high level there.
The real downside is simple: injury. When Draisaitl is in the lineup, he’s one of the best players in hockey. He’s in his prime, and there’s no sign of that changing.
There is, however, one storyline worth watching beyond health. Will he mesh with new head coach Mike Babcock, or will there be friction?
Draisaitl was one of the voices behind the hire, so if it doesn’t click, that falls back on the star players who pushed for it. They got the setup they wanted, and now the pressure is on to make it work.
Draisaitl has to set the tone.
More often than not, that’s what he does. If he brings the effort, the points and the line-driving should follow.
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