The Oilers didn’t give their fans much to hang onto in 2025-26, but one night in December stood above everything else.
On Dec. 16, 2025, Leon Draisaitl joined one of hockey’s most exclusive clubs by becoming the 103rd player in NHL history to reach 1,000 points. It happened roughly 13 months after Connor McDavid became the 99th player to do it, and for Edmonton, that was the season’s defining moment.
The milestone came in Pittsburgh, and the sequence that produced it was pure Oilers star power. Four days earlier, Edmonton had dealt Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak, and a 2029 second for Tristan Jarry, and Skinner ended up starting against his former team. He kept the Oilers off the board for the first 11 and a half minutes, but Edmonton finally broke through on a five-on-three.
Evan Bouchard and Draisaitl worked the puck back and forth twice before Draisaitl slipped a quick pass to McDavid on the far side of the zone. McDavid then found Zach Hyman at the net, and Hyman shoved it home.
But the goal itself was almost secondary. Hyman immediately skated over to Draisaitl while the Oilers bench poured over the boards to celebrate the milestone.
That’s the kind of company Draisaitl now keeps. The word “generational” gets tossed around too easily, and while Draisaitl has been among the league’s elite since 2018-19, that label belongs to McDavid. Still, Draisaitl fits the mold of the great running mate every true generational player seems to have.
Wayne Gretzky had Mark Messier. Mario Lemieux had Jaromír Jágr.
Sidney Crosby has Evgeni Malkin. Alex Ovechkin could also be paired with Nicklas Bäckström, though the source notes that “generational” should be reserved for the best player of a generation.
The common thread among those pairings is longevity and legacy. Most of them are already in the Hall of Fame or headed there, and Draisaitl is on that path too. McDavid may one day become the second player ever to reach 2,000 points, but Draisaitl is building a résumé that should land him at 30 Yonge Street when all is said and done.
For Edmonton, the hope is that the next season brings more than a single unforgettable night. The source frames it plainly: every generational talent needs a superstar sidekick, and maybe 2026-27 is the year both of them finally get their name on the Stanley Cup. For now, though, Draisaitl’s 1,000th point stands alone as the Oilers’ best moment of 2025-26.
In Other News...
Bowman Says The Oilers Are Set But Bakersfield Looms Large
The Oilers may be content with where their NHL roster stands right now, but the conversation around the team is hardly finished. Executive Stan Bowman has said the group is set for the moment, even as the reality of a long season usually brings injuries, slumps and the need for a fresh look. That makes the pipeline in Bakersfield especially important, because Edmonton will almost certainly need help from below at some point.
The names worth tracking are beginning to line up, with Isaac Howard and William Nicholl viewed as candidates to help either right away or not long after, while Owen Michaels and Josh Samanski are also edging closer to NHL readiness. For the Oilers, the significance of that depth is not just about filling a temporary hole, but about having real options when the season starts to push the roster in different directions. Bakersfield may end up mattering far more than the quiet confidence of a set lineup suggests. [Read more 🡒]
Vasily Podkolzin Gave The Oilers An Edge Fans Noticed
Vasily Podkolzin has brought a different sort of edge to the Oilers this season, one that fans notice long before the box score catches up. Edmonton has been involved in plenty of scrums across the 2025-26 campaign, and Podkolzin has been right in the middle of that identity shift, stepping into the rough stuff and setting a tone that fits a team willing to get greasy when the game calls for it.
He has led the Oilers in fights and come out on top in several of the more notable ones, including bouts with Peyton Krebs and Anthony Cirelli. And he has not been alone in adding some bite to the lineup, with Connor Murphy and Connor Clattenburg also dropping the gloves more than once, giving Edmonton a physical presence that has become part of the conversation around this group. [Read more 🡒]
Russian Stars Absence Leaves International Hockey Facing Unseen Cost
The International Ice Hockey Federations decision to keep Russia out of major tournaments is reverberating well beyond the bracket sheets, with the ban now set to cover the 2027 Mens World Championship, the 2027 World Junior Championship and the upcoming U18 mens and womens events. The move came after Russias hockey organization sought a fresh review, but the federation stood by its earlier call, citing safety, security and sporting integrity concerns.
For a sport that still prides itself on global competition, the absence of Russian teams leaves a visible hole in events that shape the next wave of stars and establish the pecking order among hockey powers. The on-ice consequences are obvious, but the larger question lingers too: how long can international hockey keep drawing its lines this way before the political backdrop starts changing the game itself? [Read more 🡒]