The Edmonton Oilers announced Tuesday that forward Leon Draisaitl will miss the final 14 games of the regular season due to a lower-body injury.
Draisaitl sustained the injury after absorbing a hit along the boards from Nashville Predators forward Ozzy Wiesblatt on March 15. The loss removes the National Hockey League’s fourth-leading scorer from the Edmonton lineup as the franchise pushes toward the playoffs. Draisaitl recorded 97 points, including 35 goals and 62 assists, across 65 games this season and was riding a nine-game point streak prior to the hit.
The Oilers’ announcement compounds a chaotic week of superstar injuries across professional sports. Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews was officially ruled out for the remainder of the regular season after suffering a Grade 3 MCL tear and a quad contusion.
Matthews sustained the injury on March 12 following a knee-on-knee hit from Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas. The NHL Department of Player Safety issued a five-game suspension to Gudas, the maximum allowable penalty via a phone hearing.
Judd Moldaver, the agent representing Matthews, publicly criticized the ruling, calling the five-game suspension “laughable and preposterous.” Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube and forward John Tavares also expressed intense frustration that the punishment did not align with the severity of the season-ending play.
Head of Player Safety George Parros defended the five-game suspension while speaking at the NHL general manager meetings in Florida on March 17. Parros stated the department followed its established processes. He noted that while Gudas possesses a long career history of suspensions, the defenseman did not qualify as a repeat offender under the strict 24-month window defined by the collective bargaining agreement.