Huge expectations ahead of playoffs
NHL star Draisaitl finally wants the Stanley Cup
May 2, 2022, 3:12 p.m
Leon Draisaitl breaks records in the NHL and sets personal bests. But only in the NHL main round. With the Edmonton Oilers, the 26-year-old regularly fails early in the playoffs. He finally wants to make history with his club.
Wayne Gretzky lifts the Stanley Cup in front of the arena, inside are photos, jerseys and bats from the golden years of the Edmonton Oilers. Leon Draisaitl is reminded every day of what ice hockey fans expect from him here. “There is nobody who wants it more than us players,” said the German superstar before the start of the playoffs: “We want to be the team that brings these times back.”
The living legend Gretzky, who won ice hockey’s most coveted trophy four times with the Oilers in the 1980s, is not just omnipresent as a statue. The now 61-year-old also frequented Rogers Place for years as a vice president. “We know who we’re playing for here,” said Draisaitl, who is often compared to Gretzky and his team-mates from back then because of his outstanding performances alongside Canadian star Connor McDavid.
The native of Cologne has just completed his eighth NHL main round with personal bests. His 55 goals and 55 assists were last equaled (and surpassed) by Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr 26 years ago. “Of course, it makes me very proud that my name appears on a list of such legends,” said Draisaitl, who was already crowned scorer king in 2020, most valuable player in the league and Germany’s sportsman of the year.
It has to be in the right form
But what is missing are the team successes: With Draisaitl, Edmonton only reached the playoffs three times and only made it into the second round once. That should finally change now. “Hopefully we’ll end up at the top,” said the 26-year-old, who played with the Oilers on Tuesday night (4 a.m. CEST/Sky) against the Los Angeles Kings in the championship round.
Draisaitl is encouraged by the current form: Edmonton has won 26 of the most recent 38 games since Jay Woodcroft replaced head coach Dave Tippett. A change of coach is “always a bad day for those affected,” said Draisaitl, “but sometimes it’s just necessary, and it was necessary for us at the time.” The team has “improved extremely” in recent weeks. The fact that the Oilers are in top form with seven wins in their last eight games is “timely for everything to come together in the playoffs.”
The team is better put together than in previous years. “We have great guys in the squad who have already won something and are still hot,” he emphasized, “that’s a really good recipe.” But it is also clear that the favorites are different: the Colorado Avalanche with Nico Sturm from Augsburg or the Florida Panthers as the team with the best points in the main round. The results of the 82 games so far don’t count anymore, “a whole new season is beginning”.
At the end, Draisaitl wants to emulate Gretzky in bronze and hold up the Stanley Cup. That would be even more important to the man from Cologne than his beloved FC taking part in the Champions League. “FC have to be at the back there,” he said with a laugh, “but maybe there’s both.”