Player Discussion Leon "Dr Drai" Draisaitl: The Next Episode

[Soundwave]

Yup, he needs good line mates, you can't just play him with crap, that's gonna be a problem for the Oilers.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I think his biggest problem is that he needs better line mates. He needs at least one good winger to play with.

He had a good year. I don’t know if I would say great. I think he needs more consistency. He has games where’s he’s a beast and games where he’s ok. Not worried about him but he needs some help.

You think? Drai made 10 stellar setups today to players in gimme scoring range. Not one finished. Not one.

The ONLY setups he got the whole game were on the PP, in which he scored. Then he showcased his punishing skill annihilating a puck on a slapper into the high corner in the shootout. That puck was practically set on fire. I think Drai might have put a whole season of anger into that puck. If that went through the net it would probably break the glass. That hard a shot. Just a cannon.

This guy is a scoring beast and he plays over half a season with AHL level talent. He's a player that can get 50 or more assists in a year and he's playing yet another game with two guys that have 1 measly f***ing goal in their last 34 games combined. Think about that.

What are the chances of Drai getting production EV?

 

[Drivesaitl]

Hall for Fall?

That's what the trade ultimately did.

But its OK. Drai can set up his linemates 10 times a game and they might score an EV goal once or twice a month. His linemates tonight have a combined 7 goals in all of 2018. Gee, I wonder if this is a problem.

I think we should just tear one of the numbers off Ethan Bear and pretend he's #4. He's got more talent than anybody Drai is seeing EV.

 

[Spawn]

We need a player at least as good as Nuge to play with Drai. Or to play with McDavid to see if Drai and Nuge can click. Or to play with Nuge when McDavid and Drai inevitably see some more time together next year.

It's too much to ask the 3rd guy of Nuge/Drai/McDavid have to carry whatever garbo they had to play with when they weren't playing with one of the other two. McDavid could maybe do it, but he clearly benefits playing with a skilled guy on his wing.

 

[McIce Whole]

We need a player at least as good as Nuge to play with Drai. Or to play with McDavid to see if Drai and Nuge can click. Or to play with Nuge when McDavid and Drai inevitably see some more time together next year.

It's too much to ask the 3rd guy of Nuge/Drai/McDavid have to carry whatever garbo they had to play with when they weren't playing with one of the other two. McDavid could maybe do it, but he clearly benefits playing with a skilled guy on his wing.

Exactly. Chia assumed Lucic would be that fourth guy and now we’re stuck with that cap hit. At least last year we had Eberle to form two solid lines.

Feel bad for Drai because of the linemates he gets but hope to see him dominate games and be the best player on the ice. He showed glimpses of it this season, hopefully we see it more consistently next season and obviously having a quality, sniping winger would help.

 

[GodPucker]

Change this thread title to "Leon Draisatl - Waiting for his next vacation and the season to end"

What a putrid last half.

I remember him and his clan sitting at a diner table in Sweden posting a pic when he signed his extension. Congrats guys. Congrats!

 

[Apathetic]

Man if Draisaitl can't carry his own line just another egg on Chia's face. Could have gotten Drai signed at 7 milllion if he had waited. Instead we have another guy who is getting paid more than 1 million more than what he can deliver. Don't get me wrong I love the guy but if people are complaining he needs talent on his wing to succeed, he shouldn't be the 11th highest cap hit in the league.

Bottom line: If you can't drive the play on your own, you shouldn't be the 11th highest cap hit in the league. I am sure Drivesaitl and who ever else is bouncing on it will make all the excuse in the world for Drai. But hell if you are the 11th highest cap in the league than there are no excuses you go out there and produce results and Drai hasn't done that to justify his cap hit. I don't want to be another fan that drives a talented player out of town, as far as I am concerned this season was a write off, but it is on Drai's shoulders to make up for it over the next 7 seasons.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Clearly Drai need someone to compliment him on the 2nd line. The hope would be that one or both of Pulju and Yamamoto would fill that spot but I suspect that we will need a short term option for him while those or other guys come up through the system. In a way he kind of screwed himself by signing the contract that he did because we may not be able to afford such a winger due to the Lucic and Sekera contracts.

 

[McIce Whole]

Man if Draisaitl can't carry his own line just another egg on Chia's face. Could have gotten Drai signed at 7 milllion if he had waited. Instead we have another guy who is getting paid more than 1 million more than what he can deliver. Don't get me wrong I love the guy but if people are complaining he needs talent on his wing to succeed, he shouldn't be the 11th highest cap hit in the league.

Bottom line: If you can't drive the play on your own, you shouldn't be the 11th highest cap hit in the league. I am sure Drivesaitl and who ever else is bouncing on it will make all the excuse in the world for Drai. But hell if you are the 11th highest cap in the league than there are no excuses you go out there and produce results and Drai hasn't done that to justify his cap hit. I don't want to be another fan that drives a talented player out of town, as far as I am concerned this season was a write off, but it is on Drai's shoulders to make up for it over the next 7 seasons.

The issue is that we have given Drai absolutely no help. Look at his wingers and tell me which players that are paid more than him would be able to make that work? He was playing for Lucic and Cammalleri for an extended period and they had 1 goal between them in 42 games. I don’t think any player in the league can produce with linemates like that. Hockey is a team game, it’s easy to key in on a player and shut him down when he has two plugs on his line. Just look at how Mcdavid’s line did with and without Nuge, makes a huge difference.

I don’t think Drai needs a superstar winger on his line or anything. I believe he’s good enough to carry that line and he’s only 22...what he does need though are some quality wingers that can support the play and have better finishing abilities than Lucic and Cammo.

Look at all the top centers in the league and unless it is McDavid, they will all likely have a quality winger with them.

 

[McIce Whole]

True, however he likely knew that there'd be repercussions to him signing such a deal. It wouldn't have been an issue if Looch and Sekera didn't fall off of cliffs this season.



Looch needs to come back better period. Jesse and Yamamoto need to come back better as well.

I have no faith in Lucic coming back better at this moment, he’s just a terrible hockey player. He needs to have the best offseason training of his life, lose 10-15 lbs and get a skills coach to help his awful hands...not optimistic about that.

Puju needs to be better for sure. Fourth overall pick and it will be his third season here. Yama is still developing, I’m hoping him and Benson don’t see NHL action all year next year, let them marinate in the AHL and just slowly develop.

Chia needs to be better and start bringing in some quality wingers.

 

[Soundwave]

I think wingers are just gonna be a problem for a while, we're just gonna have to accept that. We've just gutted that position and it will take a few years to rebuild it now.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

I think wingers are just gonna be a problem for a while, we're just gonna have to accept that. We've just gutted that position and it will take a few years to rebuild it now.

Not unlike how it was in Pittsburgh after Sid and Malkin signed their deals IIRC.

 

[Soundwave]

Not unlike how it was in Pittsburgh after Sid and Malkin signed their deals IIRC.

They were always a solid team though, they were largely besieged by injuries (Crosby's concussions and Malkin missed a lot of games too) and MAF totally crapping the bed in the playoffs for several years in a row.

But they still made the playoffs with ease.

Malkin + Crosby is just a ridiculous 1-2 punch too, it would be like us having McDavid + McDavid 2. Leon is good, but he's definitely a good deal below Malkin who is basically McDavid tier himself.

We can't get by with that same formula. We could've had a similar end result with four players (McDavid + RNH on line 1, Hall + Draisaitl on line 2), but we threw that away.

 

[PaPaDee]

Draisaitl produced offensively about as much as I expected at the beginning of the season. He desperately needs some talent on his wing.

 

[Crude]

Change this thread title to "Leon Draisatl - Waiting for his next vacation and the season to end"

What a putrid last half.

I remember him and his clan sitting at a diner table in Sweden posting a pic when he signed his extension. Congrats guys. Congrats!

A 22 year old athlete celebrating signing a $68M contract? How dare he!

 

[nabob]

You think? Drai made 10 stellar setups today to players in gimme scoring range. Not one finished. Not one.

The ONLY setups he got the whole game were on the PP, in which he scored. Then he showcased his punishing skill annihilating a puck on a slapper into the high corner in the shootout. That puck was practically set on fire. I think Drai might have put a whole season of anger into that puck. If that went through the net it would probably break the glass. That hard a shot. Just a cannon.

This guy is a scoring beast and he plays over half a season with AHL level talent. He's a player that can get 50 or more assists in a year and he's playing yet another game with two guys that have 1 measly ****ing goal in their last 34 games combined. Think about that.

What are the chances of Drai getting production EV?

He set up 10 players for gimmies? Are serious? Last game Puljujarvi set him up for a tap in and he muffed it. You wouldn't even acknowledge that it was a good scoring chance.

Maybe most of your posts are pure satire now Replacement and I just don't quite get the humor.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

They were always a solid team though, they were largely besieged by injuries (Crosby's concussions and Malkin missed a lot of games too) and MAF totally crapping the bed in the playoffs for several years in a row.

But they still made the playoffs with ease.

Malkin + Crosby is just a ridiculous 1-2 punch too, it would be like us having McDavid + McDavid 2. Leon is good, but he's definitely a good deal below Malkin who is basically McDavid tier himself.

We can't get by with that same formula. We could've had a similar end result with four players (McDavid + RNH on line 1, Hall + Draisaitl on line 2), but we threw that away.

It helps when the league doesnt leech 10 points/season off you through atrocious reffing.

 

[nabob]

Draisaitl produced offensively about as much as I expected at the beginning of the season. He desperately needs some talent on his wing.

I would agree that he hit the minimum expectations if he was to be centering his whole line all season. But he wasn't, he played a lot with McDavid. Maybe my expectations were too high for him after what he showed on his own in the playoffs. Maybe that performance was a little overblown.

Was nice to see him finish the season with a better game after putting in a bunch of meh performances in the last couple of weeks. That clapper to close it out was a beauty.

 

[oobga]

So if we didn't burn his first ELC year for no reason, how much does Drai sign at the end of this season for 8 years? 7.5? If Lucky Lou was our GM? 6.5? hehe.

 

[PaPaDee]

So if we didn't burn his first ELC year for no reason, how much does Drai sign at the end of this season for 8 years? 7.5?

Probably about the same # IMO.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Man if Draisaitl can't carry his own line just another egg on Chia's face. Could have gotten Drai signed at 7 milllion if he had waited. Instead we have another guy who is getting paid more than 1 million more than what he can deliver. Don't get me wrong I love the guy but if people are complaining he needs talent on his wing to succeed, he shouldn't be the 11th highest cap hit in the league.

Bottom line: If you can't drive the play on your own, you shouldn't be the 11th highest cap hit in the league. I am sure Drivesaitl and who ever else is bouncing on it will make all the excuse in the world for Drai. But hell if you are the 11th highest cap in the league than there are no excuses you go out there and produce results and Drai hasn't done that to justify his cap hit. I don't want to be another fan that drives a talented player out of town, as far as I am concerned this season was a write off, but it is on Drai's shoulders to make up for it over the next 7 seasons.

Drai IS driving his own line. Has been the whole time he is away from McD either last season or this. The thing is when your linemates are incapable of finishing or supporting much the only that happening on the line is around Draisaitl, who is often targeted and still beating guys physically and retaining the puck on countless possessions. In one sequence he setup Khaira trice for great chances in 6 secs.

What exactly are people expecting from Drai when he's playing with two wingers that have a combined 7 goals in all of 2018 and that does not exhibit chemistry?

I swear that Ethan Bear understands Drais game better in the short time he has been here than Khaira or Pulju ever have.

 

[CycloneSweep]

I'm excited for Todd to make Drai his top line right winger next season after RNH is traded. I think he hits more points next year.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I would agree that he hit the minimum expectations if he was to be centering his whole line all season. But he wasn't, he played a lot with McDavid. Maybe my expectations were too high for him after what he showed on his own in the playoffs. Maybe that performance was a little overblown.

Was nice to see him finish the season with a better game after putting in a bunch of meh performances in the last couple of weeks. That clapper to close it out was a beauty.

The problem has to do with who the players are. In the playoffs last season Drai was playing with Lucic and Slepychev. That line really clicked. For some inane reason the team hardly ever went with it again. Draisaitl all season has 56mins with Slepychev and around 30mins with Slep and Lucic together. It was hardly ever revisited. Its mysterious why not. That line played a real hard game, supported puck possession, and really had a tendency to tilt the ice. Pulju does not support possession well. He has immense difficulty handling the puck. Khaira is decent but he isn't as skilled as Slepychev has shown.
McLellan seemed interested in really limiting Sleps chances this season to get good minutes, or minutes at all. I have no idea why. It seems to me after last years playoffs that is a line you would go back to.

 

[Drivesaitl]

He set up 10 players for gimmies? Are serious? Last game Puljujarvi set him up for a tap in and he muffed it. You wouldn't even acknowledge that it was a good scoring chance.

Maybe most of your posts are pure satire now Replacement and I just don't quite get the humor.

It was one play vs 10. It wasn't a tap in either. It was a tip in. Drai's only play on that puck was to try to tip it 5 hole. He did that, but 5 hole was covered and Subban gave him nothing on the play.

Heres something to consider. Drai got setup for scoring chances 3 times last night. All of these instances were on the PP and not from being served by his own line. He cashed once on a great finish.

McD had 4 great scoring chances including a breakaway and cashed once.

Nuge had 4-5 great scoring chances and cashed once.

The key thing is all 3 SCORED and are the leaders of this team and who, I can't make this more clear, SCORE GOALS.

Theres a difference between those contributions and players that do not finish. That do not produce, do not add to offense.


Its uncanny that Drai gets one good feed from his line in the previous game and you mentioned him not finishing it 20 times. That much is satire.

 

[nabob]

The problem has to do with who the players are. In the playoffs last season Drai was playing with Lucic and Slepychev. That line really clicked. For some inane reason the team hardly ever went with it again. Draisaitl all season has 56mins with Slepychev and around 30mins with Slep and Lucic together. It was hardly ever revisited. Its mysterious why not. That line played a real hard game, supported puck possession, and really had a tendency to tilt the ice. Pulju does not support possession well. He has immense difficulty handling the puck. Khaira is decent but he isn't as skilled as Slepychev has shown.
McLellan seemed interested in really limiting Sleps chances this season to get good minutes, or minutes at all. I have no idea why. It seems to me after last years playoffs that is a line you would go back to.

I find it odd as well. Not sure it would have helped much, those two players really didn't add much to the club in 2018 either. I think Drai might be the best center for Lucic that we have, he slows the game down and can work the cycle. Both things that Lucic needs.

So many coaching decisions this year that leave you scratching your head.