EDMONTON – “It’s pretty much impossible to shut them down one-on-one.”
Two of the best players in today’s NHL play for the same team.
Edmonton Oilers fans are treated to the likes of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl every night. Each of them attacks the opposition in their own, dangerous way.
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When The Hockey News spoke with Mark Messier last Friday, we discussed Draisaitl. Specifically, how impressive it has been to watch his evolution.
When he entered the league, he was already a formidable passer and playmaker. Now, he’s added goal-scorer to his arsenal, culminating in being awarded the 2025 Maurice Richard Trophy for scoring the most goals this season. Draisaitl scored 52 goals this year, finishing seven more than the next highest goal scorer, Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander (45).
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“It’s amazing,” Messier raved. “I remember Sidney Crosby wanting to score more goals. So he went back in the summer and worked on his shot and came back.”
Draisaitl has done a similar thing. Anyone who has been watching the Oilers since he entered the league knows that Draisaitl wasn’t scoring powerplay goals from his spot on the goal line from day one.
The 2018-19 season was the first year that Draisaitl scored more than 30 goals. He was in his fourth full season, fifth overall, playing NHL games. He scored 50 that year.
It took time to develop those skills. Messier highlighted a few skills and attributes that make Draisaitl a formidable player.
“He’s got incredible size,” Messier said. “He’s an underrated skater, in my opinion.”
“And Leon not only has the reach,” Messier continues, “but now…you see him holding people off with one arm. They can't contain him in the corner. He's too strong coming off the boards.”
“And then, of course, when you double-team him, he's good enough to find the open player. And if you don't double-team him, then he shoots it and scores himself.”
Leon Draisaitl secures his first Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the NHL's goal-scoring leader this season! 🚨 #NHLAwards
— NHL (@NHL) April 18, 2025
He ends 2024-25 with 52 goals. pic.twitter.com/p3hzXU2c8W
This is one of the most significant ways in which the duo of McDavid and Draisaitl poses a real problem for the opposition during the playoffs.
“It's a real problem for matchups, for not only players, but for teams trying to shut both of them down,” Messier told The Hockey News. “Connor's got his own skill set…it's just amazing that he's (Draisaitl) scoring at the rate he's scoring and probably one of the most elite passers in the game.”
“Leon is a special talent for so many reasons.”
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The Anaheim Ducks wrapped up their season on Wednesday with a 2-1 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets, their fourth straight winless game, to mercifully end the 2024-25 season. They finished with a 35-37-10 record, good enough for 80 points in the standings, sixth place in the Pacific Division, and eighth-best odds in the NHL Draft Lottery.
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This will mark the seventh straight season the Ducks have failed to qualify for the playoffs. With the Ottawa Senators ending their own seven-year drought this season, Anaheim now has the third-longest such streak in the NHL.
In 2024-25, his eighth year in the Ducks organization and his fifth as a full-time NHL player, Troy Terry led the Ducks in scoring for the second time in his career (he’s also finished at number two twice) with 55 points in (21-34=55) in 77 games.
The NHL playoffs begin on Saturday, and when every team has played a single game, Terry will have played the fourth-most games without a playoff appearance among active NHL players. His 427 regular season games played without seeing the playoffs will trail only Rasmus Ristolainen (776), Rasmus Dahlin (506), and Tage Thompson (448).
One year ago, players ahead of Terry in this category included Jeff Skinner, Zemgus Girgensons, Brady Tkachuk, and Thomas Chabot. With the Edmonton Oilers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Ottawa Senators qualifying for the 2025 playoffs, those streaks will come to an end when the puck drops in their respective first-round series.
Following a stellar amateur career that saw him win a U18 World Championship gold medal in 2015, a World Junior Championship gold medal in 2017, an NCAA National Championship, and represent the United States at the 2018 Olympic Games, Terry struggled to produce at the NHL level like he had at lower levels in his first two professional seasons.
Terry had a breakout season in 2021-22 that saw him score 67 (37-30=67) points in 75 games, and he’s been the Ducks’ most consistent and reliable offensive driver since. Every movement he makes on the ice is calculated and at top speed. With the puck, he’s remarkably puck-dominant as he leads rushes or circles the offensive zone, manipulating defenders, creating shots, and opening ice for teammates all the while.
He has extraordinary anticipation skills that he’s been able to translate to his defensive game, rendering him one of the most impactful and disruptive defensive wingers in the league.
His drive and determination to self-evaluate and diagnose what would ultimately make him a successful NHL player ignited his breakout and earned him a seven-year contract in the summer of 2023 that carries an AAV of $7 million.
That dedication to his craft, along with the commitment to his team and well-spoken, cerebral nature, is what identified him to many as a potential leader for the Ducks moving forward. It’s also what causes his appearance on such an unfavorable list to be even more regrettable.
The standings indicate the 2024-25 Ducks improved by 21 points over their previous iteration, but statistics indicate that the majority of that improvement could be attributed to their Vezina-caliber goaltending. Nonetheless, Terry and the 2025-26 Ducks will hope to build on the standings jump and put an end to his and the organization’s extended playoff drought.
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The die is now cast; the Montreal Canadiens will take on the Washington Capitals in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs after qualifying in their last game of the season. To those of us who have been around for a while, there’s a big déjà vu feeling there.
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In 2009-2010, the Jacques Martin-led Canadiens qualified for the Spring dance with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. That point was enough for the Canadiens to grab the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference standings, just one point ahead of the New York Rangers.
That year, the Washington Capitals had terrorized the league, finishing the season with 121 points, eight more than the second-place San Jose Sharks. Needless to say, the Canadiens were the underdogs. While the Canadiens were led by the likes of Mike Cammalleri, Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, Thomas Plekanec, and Andrei Kostitsyn up front, the Caps already had superstar Alexander Ovechkin, playmaker Nicklas Backstrom, and skilled forward Alexander Semin, who were scoring machines.
On the backend, Andrei Markov had already earned his nickname as the General, but he had been battling injuries during the season, and the playoffs were no exception, since he only competed in eight games. Thankfully, they had a young and upcoming blueliner in P.K. Subban, who was called up for the last two games of the season and stuck around for the playoffs. As for the Caps, they had Mike Green, who had put up over 76 points in the regular season, and rookie John Carlson, who is still there today.
In net, Martin juggled with the future face of the franchise, Carey Price, and Jaroslav Halak until game four, before finally deciding that the latter was the man for the job. As for the Caps, former Hab Jose Theodore had been their number one goaltender that season, but he lost his job to Semyon Varlamov.
History Will Be Made - Mike CammalleriWhat if Cammalleri didn't hit a homerun? History will be made in the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs.The Canadiens shocked the hockey world by winning the first game 3-2 in overtime before losing the next three games. Down 3-1, not many believed Montreal could survive, but they didn’t know just how good Jaroslav Halak would be that Spring.
In the next three games, facing elimination, the diminutive Slovak goaltender allowed three goals, one per game. In game six, he stopped 53 of the 54 shots he faced. Meanwhile, his teammates scored eight, and just like that, the series was flipped on its head, and David had beaten Goliath.
It was only the beginning of what would come to be known as the Halak Spring in the province of Quebec, with the “Jaroslav Halak you bring Stanley back” song on everyone’s lips and stop signs showing the goalie’s name making the rounds on social media.
Back then, I lived in London, England, and I won’t lie, I was staying up for every game, watching from midnight to three in the morning and then making my way to work at six with a huge grin on my face, singing Anakyn Slayd’s Feels Like 93. Little did I know, that was just the beginning…
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