The Edmonton Oilers have dropped three straight games to open the 2025-26 NHL season, and it’s time for everyone to step up. On that note, Leon Draisaitl delivered a sincere message for Connor McDavid and the rest of the team to listen to.
Coming into the 2025-26 NHL campaign, most concerns in Edmonton centered around the goaltending department. However, Oilers fans have been caught off guard, as McDavid and Draisaitl appear to be missing a gear to start the season. Perhaps, the offseason buzz and suspense is taking its toll on the team’s star duo.
Following a 4-2 road loss to the Detroit Red Wings, Draisaitl spoke with brutal honesty in his postgame remarks. While it would’ve been easy for the German star to shift the blame elsewhere, he chose instead to be sincere and self-critical in his assessment.
“I think we’re playing fine defensively, we’re just not scoring enough, and some of that is me,” Draisaitl admitted, via NHL.com. “There is a different dynamic to the team when the top guys are feeling it, and I’m not there. I need to look in the mirror.”
Leon Draisaitl (left) and Connor McDavid (right) sitting on the bench
Leading by example
When business is booming for the Oilers, every player on the roster can look to McDavid and Draisaitl for inspiration. After all, the two stars usually sit atop the league leaderboards. But when Edmonton is put to the test, it’s up to the team’s leaders in the locker room to bite the bullet—another way of leading by example in the NHL. That’s what the Oilers need at the moment. They must acknowledge their struggles, looking the other way won’t lead them anywhere.
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Draisaitl’s comments make that perfectly clear. The 29-year-old forward is tied for the team lead in goals (four, alongside Ryan Nugent-Hopkins), yet he’s still hungry for more and hasn’t hidden his frustration with his play so far in the 2025-26 NHL season.
For McDavid and the rest of the group, seeing Draisaitl’s competitiveness and drive could be a difference-maker moving forward. By throwing himself under the bus, Draisaitl might just spark a chain reaction to kickstart the Oilers and help right the ship.
Can’t buy a goal
The summer of 2025 has been a rollercoaster for McDavid in more ways than one. With the season only beginning, the Oilers captain may be falling victim to his comments during the offseason.
“I want to prove that scoring 50 or 60 (goals) is not a one-off,” McDavid told Sportsnet’s Mark Spector during the summer. “I’ve had 50 goals, and I’ve had 100 assists, and I like the goals a little bit more.”
Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers skates against the Calgary Flames.
At the time, it was exactly what fans in the Gateway to the North wanted to hear. That — along with news of a contract extension — was just what Oilers Nation needed their captain to hint at. However, so far, they’ve only been misled in their hopes.
Six games into the season, McDavid is, unsurprisingly, leading the team in points (7) but has yet to find the back of the net himself. It’s never taken McDavid this long to score his first goal of an NHL season. Last year marked his slowest start, as he didn’t score until the fifth game of the campaign — but now, he’s off to an even worse one in terms of goal-scoring.
