Oilers' Draisaitl to Miss Rest of Season with Injury

Draisaitl's stellar run on hold due to injury

Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl won't return this season due to upper-body injury.

Draisaitl's injury leaves Oilers scrambling to fill top scorer's shoes...

Edmonton Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl is expected to miss the rest of the regular season due to a lower-body injury sustained during Sunday's 3-1 win over the Nashville Predators. Draisaitl, 30, took a hit from Predators forward Ozzy Wiesblatt with under five minutes left in the first period, scoring his 35th goal of the season just before the incident.

Leon Draisaitl has been ruled OUT for the remainder of the regular season, the Oilers announced.

Draisaitl suffered a lower-body injury over the weekend pic.twitter.com/qkJQwjXsoG

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 17, 2026

Draisaitl briefly left the game but returned for two shifts at the end of the first period, totaling 52 seconds and 41 seconds on the ice. However, he didn't play in the second or third periods. The Oilers announced on Tuesday that Draisaitl will miss the remainder of the regular season, with his playoff status still uncertain.

Leon Draisaitl's teammate Ryan Nugent-Hopkins knows replacing him won't be easy. “Obviously, he's a top-four scorer, one of the most elite players in the League, so it's not like one guy can just step into his shoes,” Nugent-Hopkins said.

Draisaitl's stats are impressive - 97 points (4th in NHL), with 35 goals (T-8th) and 62 assists (4th). 

Leon Draisaitl appeared to be injured after taking a hard hit early in the first period from Ozzy Wiesblatt.

Draisaitl was not on the bench to start the second, and didn't play the rest of the game. Kris Knoblauch had no update on his status after the game. pic.twitter.com/PaLTn6wKxa

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 16, 2026

Leon Draisaitl's consistency is impressive - since 2018, he's been in the top 10 in points every season, scoring at least 100 points in six of the last seven seasons (excluding the COVID-shortened season). If he doesn't return, it'll be his first sub-100 point season (60+ games) since 2017-18, when he had 70 points in 75 games.

Leon Draisaitl was on pace for a huge season, needing just five more goals to hit 40+ in each of the last five seasons - he led all skaters with 52 goals last season.

Draisaitl's consistency is impressive, with at least 50 assists in eight straight seasons (62 this season). The Oilers are currently third in the Pacific Division (33-26-9) with 14 games left.