Edmonton Oilers fans can finally exhale, as the team and superstar forward Leon Draisaitl agreed to terms on an eight-year, $112 million mega contract extension.
While there will surely be arguments about the fact that this is the richest deal in NHL history, right now Oilers fans can be happy that there won’t be any in-season drama regarding a prolonged contract negotiation, and that Draisaitl is here for the long haul, hopefully meaning Connor McDavid is as well.
In honour of the celebratory mood, let’s take a look at some of Draisaitl’s best highlights in his 10 seasons as an Oiler as we get ready for (at least) another nine.
10. Tip-pass to Dominik Kahun
Despite being a three-time 50-goal scorer, Draisaitl is still known as a playmaker, including being picked by the NHL players as the best passer in the league in 2022–23.
But when people think of Draisaitl’s passing, they think of his backhand (which will come later in this list). In this play, Draisaitl uses a different kind of pass, faking a slot shot and instead tipping the puck through his legs to his countrymate Dominik Kahun.
9. Overtime 1-on-3 assist to McDavid
Draisaitl and Connor McDavid are money in 3v3 overtime periods. They are known especially for the counter-attack rush, but talented players will always have multiple tools in the arsenal.
In this play, Draisaitl shows off his power forward abilities, first shrugging off Samuel Girard like he’s nothing more than a pesky fly, then draws both Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen to him and splits through them, and then tops it off with a pass across to a wide open McDavid. A thing of beauty.
8. Backhand sauce
As mentioned, Draisaitl’s backhand comes into play here, with a saucer pass from the home blue line on the right side of the ice to the opposing blue line on the left, over two Avalanche players’ sticks, hitting McDavid with speed to break in all alone. And of course, McDavid makes no mistake and finishes it off with a goal.
7. One-man show
Everyone knows of McDavid’s beautiful goal(s) against the Maple Leafs (pick your poison really). Still, Draisaitl pulled one of his own against them, coming in with speed with a cut against one defender, followed by a nice toe drag around another before potting a goal. While he didn’t score on his initial shot, the presence of mind to be able to kick the rebound up to his stick and then slip it in in such a tight space is impressive in its own right.
6. Battle of Alberta winner helper
You could frankly put the entire series against the Flames in 2022 as a highlight for Draisaitl, where he scored an absurd 17 points in just five games, good for third-most in a series in NHL history, and his 15 assists were an NHL record.
But the series winner is the big highlight. Sure, it’s not necessarily the “nicest” play, but in the situation it was huge. The composure and ability to use his body to shield the puck and then spin and pass it to McDavid still takes skill and it is again arguably the biggest play in either player’s career.
5. “Ohhhh, I’m so scared!”
Along with being a good hockey player, Draisaitl is known to have a personality, a somewhat foreign concept for NHL players.
In the second-round series against Vancouver last year, emotions ran high, with many a scrum and whatnot. Here, Elias Lindholm told Draisaitl that he was coming for him. As you can see, Draisaitl was certainly very worried about Lindholm’s threat from the look on his face and was not at all making fun of the Canucks’ trash-talk or lack thereof.
4. Always a good interview
Keeping with Draisaitl’s personality, another thing he is known for are his interviews and quotes.
First, there is his confirmation that top players enjoy going pointless:
Then you’ve got Draisaitl confirming he is aware of when his birthday is:
Telling a reporter that his question was, indeed, not very bright:
He is apparently not a Mario Kart fan:
And of course, the most famous one, featuring Draisaitl being “pissy”:
3. Through the legs tip-in goal
We started this list off with a through-the-legs tipped pass, and here we are with another through-the-legs tip, but this time the pass was to the back of the net.
Did he need to actually put his stick through his legs to tip it? Probably not. But hey, that’s showbiz baby.
2. Pick up the net and then pick the corner
After getting taken down and slightly knocking off the net, Draisaitl showed some smart thinking to notice that he could put the net back on its peg. The puck comes back to him in his usual short-side spot, but instead of taking the immediate shot, he holds the puck for a bit, waits Rittich out and then manages to put the puck in a spot that has literally just enough room for the puck to go in. A double highlight goal.
1. Any angle is a good angle
Along with the backhand pass, Draisaitl’s signature is the short-side one-timer from a very sharp angle. He took that to the max against Ottawa here, where he got as close to the goal line as you possibly can while still being in front of the net (and in fact he is standing behind the goal line).
Even without a goalie, this would be a tough goal to score, so that makes it all the more impressive.
Leon, all we can say is that you are…phenomenal:
Leon, what else can we say other than you are…phenomenal:
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
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