Oilers' Leon Draisaitl Should Be Hart Trophy Favorite – Hockey Writers – Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid were on hand when the latter scored his 1,000th career point, in Edmonton's win over the Nashville Predators at Rogers Place on Nov. 14.

The footage comes from the trailer for the latest episode of The Drop, the team's web series, which captures time on the Oilers bench after McDavid's key point: “You're a goat, bro,” Draisaitl tells a close friend. “You are the GOAT”.

Related: Oilers Beat Sharks 3-2 Despite Heroes From Sharks Rookie Goalie Askarov

Well, McDavid could be the GOAT. But Draisaitl is the MVP. The 29-year-old center has been the Oilers' best player through their first 33 games of the 2024-25 NHL season, leading Edmonton in several categories, including goals (24), points (51), plus/minus (plus- 19) and game-winning goals (8).

He scored an overtime goal in Edmonton's most recent game, a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks at Rogers Place on Saturday (Dec. 21), becoming the Oilers' all-time leader in overtime goals with 17.

Draisaitl Key to Oilers' Success

Draisaitl has been incredibly consistent and incredibly valuable. He has yet to go more than two games without a goal, and the Oilers are 15-4-1 when they score a goal compared to 5-7-1 when they don't.

League-wide, Draisaitl ranks first in goals and game-winning goals and is second only to Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon in points. He is tied for third in plus/minus and has the best faceoff numbers in the NHL, winning 333 of 593 for a 56.2% rate.

However, several players have a short chance of winning the NHL's MVP award, including MacKinnon and Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning, both of whom are +700. The current favorite is Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild at -110, followed by McDavid at +310. Draisaitl, who is back in fifth place next to Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel at +2500, isn't even his team's favorite for the Hart Trophy.

McDavid is having another great campaign: The three-time Hart Trophy recipient ranks fifth in the NHL with 33 assists and sixth with 48 points. But he has probably been touched less this season than his German counterpart.

Draisaitl Has Won MVP Before

Some may have trouble wrapping their heads around the idea that McDavid could be the face of the league, a generational talent, a foundation for each team to build on, and rightly be considered the greatest player in hockey today, while at the moment he is not the NHL's most important player.

This has not happened before. In 2019-20, Draisaitl won the Hart Trophy after leading the league with 110 points while playing in all 71 games for Edmonton. McDavid, who missed seven games, finished second in the NHL with 97 points.

Small Gap Between Oilers' Superstars

Wayne Gretzky played with several future Hall of Famers during his ten years in Edmonton, including two Hart Trophies of his own, Mark Messier. But in no season was Edmonton's MVP ever questioned, the gulf between the Big One and everyone else widened.

The gap between McDavid and Draisaitl is very narrow. That's not a knock on the former, but rather a compliment on the latter. Draisaitl signed an extension this offseason that would make him the highest-paid player in league history, and now he's going out and earning it. The best part about the Oilers is that there is nothing but love between their two superstars. Neither McDavid nor Draisaitl could care as much about individual honors as they do about the Stanley Cup.

Edmonton returns to action at Rogers Place tonight (Dec. 22) when they take on the Ottawa Senators in their final game before Christmas.