What to expect from Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl this season

Edmonton Oilers fans are basking in the glow of Leon Draisaitl s new contract .

This version of the team will likely enjoy playing one of the teams all-time talents in Oilers colours for the duration of his career.

Through 45 years of Oilers hockey, that proved impossible.

This week, all that changed.

Advertisement Its a major deal for the team, its fans and the city.

Oilers fans of a certain age remember the exits of all-time greats from Edmonton.

Wayne Gretzky went to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988; Mark Messier arrived in Manhattan in 1991, bringing great skill, leadership and the ability to predict the future.

Almost all of the fan base is overjoyed this week.

GO DEEPER Leon Draisaitl's extension cements Oilers' Stanley Cup contention window There have been just a few critical whispers in the days following the contract signing.

Some fans fret about the cap and the AAV on Draisaitls deal, but the Oilers are in surprisingly good shape moving forward in this area.

The club will need to be more prudent in signing free agents, and aggressive in procuring and developing young talent, but those things appear to be in place since the arrival of Jeff Jackson as CEO of hockey ops in the late summer of 2023.

There are always outliers when hearing from such an enormous and diverse fan base.

There are those who worry about Draisaitls scoring and outscoring away from captain Connor McDavid , and some who (sincerely) believe the organization lost its rugged soul on the day Curt Brackenbury left town.

Lets examine those two issues: Scoring and outscoring, and a rugged edge.

Scoring and outscoring The key argument against signing Draisaitl to a long-term deal at big money surrounds performance away from McDavid at five-on-five.

It has been an issue in the past, but the 2023-24 season showed tremendous growth in this area.

All numbers five-on-five, via Natural Stat Trick These are minutes without McDavid and show that in two of the past three seasons, Draisaitl has been money.

Last season, the big man was exceptional, and he should have better linemates next season.

Management added Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson to the top of the depth chart on each wing.

Even if one of those names lands on the No.

1 line with the captain, it will mean Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Zach Hyman will line up alongside Draisaitl.

Advertisement Thats exceptional work in 2023-24 with real signs of an even better year on the way.

What about time without McDavid versus elite competition? We are parsing numbers now in a way that may yield unsatisfactory totals due to a lack of sample size.

That said, Draisaitl away from McDavid against elites at five-on-five last season delivered well.

In 205 solo minutes, Draisaitl owned a 55.6 percent Dangerous Fenwick (smart Corsi, like expected goals).

Thats -1.31 DFF% CorsiRel, a strong number considering relative includes McDavids brilliant five-on-five (61.9 percent DFF) percentage.

One concern, and its a team issue rather than an individual one, is the goal share in those solo minutes (10-15, 40 percent).

Thats mostly due to the save percentage when he was on the ice (.857) and regression next season should give his line a stronger share.

Beyond that, the only real criticism is how many goals are scored by Draisaitls line away from McDavid.

Its a deal Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch will gladly take, as scoring 55.6 percent of the five-on-five goals when McDavid is at rest should be considered a major positive.

When both of Edmontons impact stars are off the ice, the Oilers scored 48.9 percent of the five-on-five goals.

When both were on the ice, together or apart, the Oilers owned 60 percent of the five-on-five goals.

Draisaitl has overcome the McDavid OFF portion of the equation.

It must have felt like climbing Everest, but he has shown it to be a repeatable skill.

Rugged edge The Oilers organization was immediately concerned with protecting its young stars in the months after McDavid was drafted in 2015.

He would suffer a severe injury as a rookie, which compelled the team to add more rugged wingers.

Pat Maroon , Milan Lucic, Zack Kassian and others rolled into town for the expressed purpose of protecting the teams future.

Advertisement Over the years, the two star centres gained experience in an NHL that doesnt protect its stars, and especially lets loose with the outlaw tactics as a team edges closer to the Stanley Cup.

Many fans still worry about McDavid and Draisaitl, but the two men have been transformed from vulnerable rookies to rugged veterans who initiate contact.

The idea that the Oilers need to protect either player isnt reasonable.

Both men get hit a lot; Natural Stat Trick has McDavid at 6.46 hits per 60 and Draisaitl at 7.43 per 60, with the captain engaging in hitting others far more often (4.48 to 2.58 per 60).

Draisaitl does much of his impact work on a physical level with that giant boat oar of a stick he carries around.

Draisaitl is, in hockey jargon, filthy.

Opponents give a lot of punishment and the big man gives it back, and does so liberally and not in a sneaky way.

His stick work is shocking.

What kind of penalties does Draisaitl take? In the opening game of the 2023-24 regular season, Draisaitl took a cross-checking penalty early in the third period and followed it up with a slashing infraction later in the period.

Sandwiched between? A McDavid penalty for cross-checking.

Bottom line One of the worries about Edmontons roster heading to camp from some areas of the fan base surrounds worry over protecting the stars.

Its a legit concern, but more big players who cant help outscore the opponent arent going to help any skill player.

Those who dont agree need only look back to the short and industrious Oilers career of Kailer Yamamoto (a small forward who did need protection).

Despite real skill and forechecking ability, Yamamoto was often flattened by bigger players and left in a heap like a load of laundry ready for the cleaners.

The NHL as an entity should protect its stars.

It doesnt, although the game isnt as ghastly in this area as it was long ago.

Advertisement What can a team do? Deploy impact players like Draisaitl (and McDavid) who have become the hunters (as well as being hunted) in a wild league that considers the current state of the game to be the gold standard.

Edmonton should employ as many edgy players who can outscore at five-on-five as possible.

Those men are rare.

Draisaitl and McDavid are two of them.

The teams best players have long ago accepted the laws of the NHL and are now using them to their advantage.

Draisaitl is a bull and a bully.

The NHL made him that way.

He doesnt need the protection of a winger who cant play at pace and isnt able to help outscore opponents.

Hes reaching a new level of responsibility and maturity.

The new contract will one day be a drag on the cap.

Oilers management is betting that day comes after one or two Stanley Cups have been won.

Its an exceptionally good bet.

(Photo: Sergei Belski / USA Today).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.