The Edmonton Oilers had a 60-goal scorer last season for the first time since 1986-87. Connor McDavid reached 64 goals and was just the third player in franchise history to hit the 60-goal mark. There is one other player with a legitimate shot at also reaching 60 very soon, that being Leon Draisaitl.
There are a number of reasons why Draisaitl could be the next 60-goal scorer for the Oilers and why it can happen as early as this season. He is a great goal-scorer but sometimes gets overshadowed by McDavid. Many would agree he is a top-three scorer and even player in the league. He’s only getting better, so there’s no reason to think his numbers won’t as well.
Draisaitl Has the Help to Score 60
Before the start of last season, Draisaitl predicted that McDavid would score 60 goals. This, of course, came to pass when he started shooting more and scored 64. But this wasn’t done alone. Edmonton’s top-six is very skilled and only got better with the addition of Connor Brown this offseason. Last season, McDavid got help from forwards like Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, and Evander Kane, and as the goals piled up, the team understood that one of their side goals was to help McDavid reach 60.
Time and time again, we see the selfless play of McDavid when a teammate is close to a milestone or already at two goals in a game. He does what he can to get that player to that milestone or get that hat trick. The team follows him as well. Many times have we seen Draisaitl be the player who just needs that goal or point and hit it because of McDavid. The captain of the Oilers has already reached his 60 goals and 150 points. That’s not to say he won’t again, but he will definitely be looking for Draisaitl to join him at 60 goals at least.
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We know Draisaitl can do it. He has hit 50 goals in three of the past five seasons, only missing in the two shortened seasons. Fifty-five is his highest, and he scored 52 last season because his main focus was getting McDavid to 60.
Draisaitl is a Proven Scorer
Draisaitl’s precision, the angle he shoots from the majority of the time, and his shot volume all play a big part in how he is able to continue to hit 50 goals. Whether it is waiting out the goalie to make a move, picking a corner with masterful precision, or shooting it before the goalie can get across to save the shot, he can adjust and find ways to get the puck in the back of the net.
He has a career 18.1 shooting percentage (SH%), which is very good. He ranks 16th in NHL history in career shooting percentage among players who have taken at least 1,500 shots and has the highest SH% among active players. Over the past five seasons, it has increased even higher to 20.2, and I don’t see that dropping anytime soon at the level he is playing. He is only 27 years old, which means he’s in the early years of his prime. While his points continue to rise, there’s no reason to believe that his goals won’t as well.
A big helper is the Oilers’ elite power play that has decimated the league the past few seasons. The top unit is out there for the full two minutes the majority of the time and is very good at keeping control of the puck and getting high-quality shots. Many of the shots come from Draisaitl below the right circle. When the pass comes from the left side of the ice, this makes it extremely difficult for the goalie to read and react to get across and even get any part of the puck. This is why he led the league in power-play goals with 32 and finished with the second-highest total in a season all time. He has 103 power-play goals in the past 369 regular season games, and they’re only increasing every season.
Draisaitl is not only elite on the power play, but he can score in any situation. While he was able to get over half of his goals on the power play last season, he can still score at even strength. Last season wasn’t the best indicator of his capabilities, but in three of the past five seasons, he’s scored at least 27 goals at even strength (twice hitting 30). He will have better linemates for the full season (hopefully) as Brown is an upgrade to Kailer Yamamoto/Jesse Puljujarvi, and Kane shouldn’t miss half of the season with a fluke injury.
Draisaitl plays in all situations as he is an underrated penalty killer with the massive paddle on his stick and his hand-eye coordination. He scored one shorthanded goal last season but has nine in the past six years. The Oilers were the most dangerous team shorthanded last season, so his goals could easily fluctuate even more this season. He always starts overtime with McDavid, and there are more than a handful of highlights of those two ending the game with a 2-on-1. He’s always the first candidate to be moved up to the top line when the Oilers need a goal and must load up. The magic between McDavid and Draisaitl started when they used to play together full-time, and the magic is still there when they do at times throughout the season.
The Oilers led the league in goals last season. They have only gotten better, and more goals will be expected from many of the players, including even Draisaitl. I don’t think there is much standing in the way of him reaching 60 this year and joining the elite group that has done so in recent memory.
