Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl is having a stellar year. Draisaitl is the first NHL player this season to reach 50 goals, and one of his teammates thinks Draisaitl is the most valuable player in hockey.
“He’s the MVP, seeing what he’s done so far this year,” Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse said, per The Athletic. “If we don’t have a lot of the efforts and performances that he has, we’re probably not sitting in the position that we’re in.”
Draisaitl is working his magic on the ice. He has 51 total goals this year, which is 10 more than he had at the close of last season. The Oilers star center is also an impressive +33 in plus-minus, helping his teammates get involved in the offense.
Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch is mirroring what Nurse is saying.
“I’m sure he garnered a few votes for some hardware after this,” Knoblauch said.
Draisaitl scored two goals for the Oilers Saturday, in a 3-2 overtime victory over the Calgary Flames. He finished the contest with three total points.
The Oilers have their eyes on a Stanley Cup
The Oilers were one of the greatest stories in the NHL last season. Edmonton stormed through the Western Conference after making a coaching change. The club made the Stanley Cup final, before ultimately losing to Florida.
Edmonton is trying to return to the championship this season. While the club isn’t scoring quite as many goals, they are on pace to make the playoffs. Following the win over Calgary, Edmonton is 42-26-5 on the season.
Draisaitl scored the game-winning goal for Edmonton on Saturday. He is now tied with Glenn Anderson and Connor McDavid for the most game winners for the franchise, per Sportsnet. All three players have 72 game winners in their respective Oilers careers.
“I’ll get a call from my old man. And maybe my Mom too,” Draisaitl said, per Sportsnet. “Tight games are always a little bit more special, a little more fun to be in. I thought we played well for the most part and hung in there, and sometimes you have to win those games as well.”
Draisaitl now has four consecutive seasons with at least 100 points. He has skated for Edmonton since the 2014-2015 season.
“He was amazing tonight, coming back from an injury and scoring two crucial goals for us,” Nurse said. “He made some amazing defensive plays over the course of the game — he was our leader out there tonight.”
The Oilers next take on Las Vegas on Tuesday.
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