The Oilers are expected to get Zach Hyman back for today’s road game in Salt Lake City, and that creates an immediate lineup puzzle: where does he fit at five-on-five?
One clean answer is to put Leon Draisaitl on his own line and let him drive a second unit with Ike Howard and Kasperi Kapanen. That would leave Hyman and Vasily Podkolzin to join Connor McDavid on the top line.
The logic is simple: Draisaitl has a long track record of making less-established wingers look dangerous. From 2019-20 through 2025-26, the list of players who produced alongside him at five-on-five is a strong one.
Kailer Yamamoto had the best stretch of his career. Dominik Kahun was out of the league the next season, though he is scoring “like a demon” in Germany this year.
Ryan McLeid was just starting to establish himself. Podkolzin was still trying to do the same.
Kapanen, meanwhile, came down from St. Louis on the waiver wire.
The point is that those players were not, at the time, more proven than Howard is now. And the idea that there’s a hard line between college or AHL scoring and NHL scoring does not hold up. A scorer is a scorer.
Howard has been showing he can put the puck in the net for years. He is not a perfect player, but neither were the others on that list. This is the moment to give him the chance.
Draisaitl’s value as a catalyst has only grown. He benefited from playing with McDavid in 2015 and 2016, but by the spring of 2017 he had become something bigger, a player with the Jean Beliveau in him. That is what makes him special.
The article also points to an old Canadiens example: Toe Blake did not like Yvan Cournoyer when he was a young winger and barely used him outside the power play. In fact, 41 of Cournoyer’s first 54 NHL goals came with the man advantage, even though fans wanted more of him. Blake eventually paired him with Beliveau and John Ferguson on the top line.
The suggestion here is clear: Howard should skate with Leon. Starting tonight.
In Other News...
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The catch is the usual one for Edmonton at this stage: money and assets. Any serious pursuit would likely force the Oilers to move salary back the other way, and they are not exactly sitting on a deep reserve of prospect capital either. So while the link is real enough to keep an eye on, it also feels like the sort of idea that tests how creative Edmonton can get before the market and the cap start closing in. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Forward Depth Suddenly Has A New Jason Dickinson Problem
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The injury is separate from the ankle problem that slowed Dickinson earlier, which matters because the Oilers were hoping to build some continuity around him after that delayed ramp-up. Instead, they are suddenly dealing with another absence in a part of the lineup that can least afford churn, and the uncertainty now lingers over how long he might be out and what it means for Edmontons depth chart going forward. [Read more 🡒]