As NHL Players prepare to play in the Olympics for their respective countries, there is still a lot of talk in Edmonton about Leon Draisaitl’s comments on his team’s performance heading into the break.
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The Oilers superstar was asked about his team’s play following Edmonton’s 4-3 loss to the Calgary Flames, the team’s third in a row heading into the Olympic Break. Draisaitl called a spade a spade and said it wasn’t good enough.
“Just giving up too many goals. Can’t defend. Penalty kill is not great. But there are many things that are part of it. Just not good enough right now,” Draisaitl told the media. “You need everybody. It starts with coaches. Like everybody. Like, you’re never going to win if you have four or five guys going and it starts at the top; we can be better. Our leaders can be better.”
His comments following the February 5th game started an uproar in Edmonton. Some believed those comments should have been handled behind closed doors. Throwing everyone under the bus like that could do more harm than good.
However, those who follow the Oilers closely understand that what Leon Draisaitl said about their play was 100 percent spot on. Not to mention what he said about the Oilers not being the same team they were when they went back-to-back in the Stanley Cup Finals.
“We’re a different team. We’re not the same team. Like, we’re not as good right now. We’re not even close. Like, we need to understand that,” Draisaitl added.
He is right. Having seen the Oilers play the Florida Panthers in the 2024 and 2025 Stanley Cup Finals, this group isn’t even close to those teams. As a matter of fact, the Oilers depth isn’t as good as the team that lost in Game 7 of 2024 by one goal to the Panthers.
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They have gotten worse down the middle and where it counts most, defensively. Just look at the players; because of the cap issues in Edmonton, the Oilers have lost over the last two offseasons: Cody Ceci, Vincent Desharnais, Viktor Arvidsson, Jeff Skinner, Ryan McLeod, Evander Kane, Corey Perry, John Klingberg, Connor Brown, Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway, and the list goes on.
These were key players in the run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2024 and 2025. Not to mention Paul Coffey, an assistant on Kris Knoblauch’s staff who helped the Oilers play better defence than they do now.
Defense has been an issue for the Edmonton Oilers for years now. It was a big reason why Jack Campbell got sent to the minors and then bought out. There is an argument that Jay Woodcroft was fired because of this. It has been the same thing many people have been saying: the Edmonton Oilers need to play better defence in order to protect their goalies.
Goaltending was a part of the problem, but it wasn’t the sole reason why the Edmonton Oilers lost to the Panthers twice in the Stanley Cup Final. Yes, they needed their goalie to stop some pucks, but the breakdowns that led to timely goals for the Panthers did them in. It carried over into this season as well.
They are just giving up too many goals. Whether it was Stuart Skinner (now with the Pittsburgh Penguins), Calvin Pickard, Connor Ingram, or Tristan Jarry, the goaltending has been leaking goals all season. Stuart Skinner wasn’t the problem. The trade for Jarry was just a lateral move. It didn’t make the Oilers better.
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But Leon Draisaitl is right: it is a two-way street; they need to help their goalie, which, in turn, helps the guys in front of the net.
“It goes hand in hand. Like we got to defend better, we got to make it easier on him, and then I’m sure he can be a little bit better too,” Leon Draisaitl added. “It’s a two-way street, but it starts with us in front of him, and then the game becomes a little bit easier for him. But I think there’s saves that our goalies need to make at some point.”
The Edmonton Oilers have to get it together really quickly coming out of the break. There is no more time for lollygagging, or else they could find themselves on the outside looking in with the Florida Panthers.
Leon Draisaitl needed to let off some frustration, but he put management on notice that the window for this group is closing. It’s time for them to put together a better group. However, it is also on everyone else to do their part if the Edmonton Oilers want to have success. That includes himself.
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