The 22-year-old is coming off his third full season with the Oilers, finishing second in team scoring with 25 goals and 70 points in 78 games.
Draisaitl played two games for Germany in last year's World Championship where he collected a pair of assists in three contests. He also had five points in three appearances during Olympic qualifying and another two goals as a member of Team Europe at the World Cup of Hockey.
This year's tournament kicks off May 4 in Denmark.
The 27-year-old becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1, and while his future has become murky in recent weeks - due to the club's abysmal play - it's clear teammates hope he re-ups with the club that drafted him first overall in 2009.
"You’re following and hoping that John returns and continues to be a big part of what we’re trying to do here," teammate Andrew Ladd said, according to Andrew Gross of Newsday Sports. "That’s also his decision and he’s earned the right to be in the position that he is in."
Needing just a single point to punch their ticket to the playoffs, the St. Louis Blues came up just short against the Colorado Avalanche with a 5-2 defeat Saturday night.
The Avs' two empty-netters aside, it was a tight contest and one that could have been even tighter if not for what the Blues believe was a botched call on Colorado's second goal.
It appears the play may have been offside, as the puck seemingly came outside the blue line just before Tyson Barrie brought it back in. Barrie would later score on the sequence with a one-timer from the point.
The play was reviewed by the NHL's Situation Room in Toronto, and the goal was allowed to stand. The Blues would ultimately miss out on the final playoff spot in the West, so it should come as no surprise that captain Alex Pietrangelo was livid about the call postgame.
"I don't know what view they're looking at," Pietrangelo said, per FOX Sports Midwest. "Maybe they need some glasses in Toronto, because that was pretty disappointing.
"I could show you four different angles and it's half an inch offside, so I don't know what they're looking at. Maybe they're just guessing or maybe they don't want us to get in the playoffs."
Another look at the play in question and it seems Pietrangelo makes a valid point.
Come on buddy, you know there’s a little blur under that ice, that was a good call. St Louis stole a point from Colorado back in October with a bad offside call against the Avs, that’s not even the case here. pic.twitter.com/aDzw6GfTe8
Needing just a single point to punch their ticket to the playoffs, the St. Louis Blues came up just short against the Colorado Avalanche with a 5-2 defeat Saturday night.
The Avs' two empty-netters aside, it was a tight contest and one that could have been even tighter if not for what the Blues believe was a botched call on Colorado's second goal.
It appears the play may have been offside, as the puck seemingly came outside the blue line just before Tyson Barrie brought it back in. Barrie would later score on the sequence with a one-timer from the point.
The play was reviewed by the NHL's Situation Room in Toronto, and the goal was allowed to stand. The Blues would ultimately miss out on the final playoff spot in the West, so it should come as no surprise that captain Alex Pietrangelo was livid about the call postgame.
"I don't know what view they're looking at," Pietrangelo said, per FOX Sports Midwest. "Maybe they need some glasses in Toronto, because that was pretty disappointing.
"I could show you four different angles and it's half an inch offside, so I don't know what they're looking at. Maybe they're just guessing or maybe they don't want us to get in the playoffs."
Another look at the play in question and it seems Pietrangelo makes a valid point.
Come on buddy, you know there’s a little blur under that ice, that was a good call. St Louis stole a point from Colorado back in October with a bad offside call against the Avs, that’s not even the case here. pic.twitter.com/aDzw6GfTe8
With just one game left on the NHL schedule, the Hart Trophy race should be all but done, but let's be honest: it's still anyone's trophy at this point.
New Jersey Devils forward Taylor Hall has made it clear he should be among the favorites, but with so many incredible performances to choose from, we're no closer to knowing the winner now than we were a month ago.
Nevertheless, let's have a look at the five names likely to receive the most consideration, plus a few honorable mentions:
5. Anze Kopitar
Kopitar may have had one of the quietest near-MVP seasons in recent memory, but that doesn't mean he's any less deserving of the award.
He set career highs in goals (35) and points (92), shattering his career high by 11. Incredibly, he scored 31 more points than Dustin Brown who finished second in team scoring.
Besides his offensive contributions, Kopitar averaged 2:10 of shorthanded ice-time per game, good enough for 19th among forwards. He did it all for the Kings this year, and a postseason return is the fruit of that labor.
4. Claude Giroux
On the back of an incredible second half, Giroux nearly stole the Art Ross Trophy away from Connor McDavid.
The Philadelphia Flyers captain finished just six points back of McDavid to sit second in league scoring after 45 points in his final 33 games.
Giroux became the first Flyer to post a 100-point season since Eric Lindros in 1995-96. The 30-year-old was moved to the wing this season from center and the adjustment has him in the Hart Trophy discussion.
3. Connor McDavid
We'd be having a different conversation if the Edmonton Oilers were a playoff team, but alas, they're not. So here we stand with McDavid unlikely to repeat as Hart Trophy winner despite being every bit worthy. It's a complicated system, if that wasn't already clear.
Nevertheless, McDavid's had an incredible season, besting his league-leading numbers from last season with 41 goals and 108 points and an NHL-best 1.32 points per game. His point total is the most in a season since Evgeni Malkin put up 109 in 2011-12.
He also put up 38 more points than teammate Leon Draisaitl, which is just nutty.
2. Nathan MacKinnon
What MacKinnon was able to do this season was nothing short of spectacular.
Leading a Colorado Avalanche team, that finished the 2016-17 season with the worst record in the salary-cap era, to a playoff berth just one year later was no easy feat.
The 22-year-old obliterated his previous career highs in goals and points by 15 and 34, respectively, in eight fewer games to finish with 39 goals and 97 points - good enough for fifth in league scoring.
He was the key reason for the team's turnaround, as proven by his league-leading 12 game-winning goals. The question now is: how far can he take his team in the playoffs?
He put together a league-best 26-game point streak and concluded the year with a point in 36 of his final 40 games, which is just ridiculous.
He recorded at least a point against every team except the Toronto Maple Leafs and Nashville Predators, and if his value to his team wasn't obvious enough, he recorded 41 more points than the next closest Devil (Nico Hischier).
He also helped lead the Devils to their first playoff appearance in six years.
Honorable Mentions
Nikita Kucherov
For the majority of the season, Kucherov looked like he'd run away with the award, but a handful of players caught up to him in the scoring race, rendering his season slightly less impressive.
His 100-point campaign was remarkable, but unfortunately in his case, he has the luxury of playing alongside many greats including Steven Stamkos, something many other nominees can't boast.
Evgeni Malkin
Malkin also put up a monster season, but - like Kucherov - was fortunate to play alongside some great players, like Phil Kessel and the NHL's most stacked power-play unit.
He's in the running, and his 98 points are nothing short of amazing, but other names seem more worthy of the award.
Alex Ovechkin
Ovechkin deserves considerable praise for winning his seventh Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy, but he isn't quite in the conversation for his fourth Hart Trophy. His 18-point bounce-back, after just 33 goals and 69 points a season ago, was impressive, but on a well-oiled Washington Capitals team, his value, unfortunately, gets diluted.
Saturday night's heavy slate of games didn't determine every Stanley Cup playoff series, but it did decide most of them.
Six of the eight matchups were set in stone on the penultimate night of the NHL regular season.
All that's left to be settled is the Atlantic Division, which will come into focus depending on what happens in Sunday's game between the Boston Bruins and the Florida Panthers.
Here's what we do know:
Eastern Conference
Metropolitan Division
Washington Capitals (M1) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (WC1)
The division-winning Capitals get the Blue Jackets, who finished a single point and one regulation-or-overtime win behind the Philadelphia Flyers, who grabbed third place.
Pittsburgh Penguins (M2) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (M3)
This one should be an absolute dandy, as the Battle of Pennsylvania will once again be brought to the playoff stage.
Western Conference
Central Division
Nashville Predators (C1) vs. Colorado Avalanche (WC2)
We've known about this matchup since Thursday, but it should be a terrific series between two foes who aren't too far apart geographically.
Pacific Division
Vegas Golden Knights (P1) vs. Los Angeles Kings (WC1)
Ready for Vegas and Hollywood in the same playoff series? The expansion darlings will make their first forray into the postseason, and they'll do so against a Kings team that is back in the dance after missing out in 2016-17.
Anaheim Ducks (P2) vs. San Jose Sharks (P3)
Two perennially competitive rival clubs will meet in the other Pacific Division matchup when the Ducks meet the Sharks. San Jose went on a tear down the stretch to climb the standings, while the Ducks occupied second place for much of the season.
Vrbata signed a one-year, $3.75-million deal with the Panthers last summer, and recorded five goals and nine assists in 42 games.
For his career, he scored 284 goals and added 339 assists in 1,057 games for Florida, Arizona, Vancouver, Tampa Bay, Chicago, Carolina, and Colorado after the latter drafted him 212th overall in 1999.
Vrbata also won gold for the Czech Republic at the 2001 World Junior Championships and at the 2005 World Championships.
Colorado secured the final Western Conference playoff spot with a 5-2 victory over the Blues Saturday night.
The Avalanche will face the Nashville Predators - winners of the Presidents' Trophy with the best record in the league - in the first round.
St. Louis missed the playoffs for the first time since 2010-11, ending a run of six straight postseason berths.
Colorado managed to qualify despite losing their No. 1 goaltender, Semyon Varlamov, for the season and their average time-on-ice leader, Erik Johnson, for six weeks due to injuries last Saturday.
The Avalanche (43-30-9) improved dramatically this season after finishing with the worst record in the salary-cap era (22-56-4) in 2016-17.
