Leon Draisaitl Injury Painful Reminder of Oilers’ Unprotected First-Round Pick

The Edmonton Oilers did not get the news they were hoping for regarding Leon Draisaitl on Tuesday. The team confirmed that the superstar center will miss the remainder of the regular season with a lower-body injury. No additional details were added about his status beyond that.

Losing Draisaitl is a massive blow at any point in the year, but it’s especially so during the stretch run of a season in which the Oilers are fighting just to make the playoffs and have been more reliant on him and Connor McDavid than ever.

---

That’s worrisome enough for Edmonton. Then factor in that the San Jose Sharks now own their 2026 first-round pick without protection as part of the Jake Walman trade, and a worst-case scenario could be brewing for the Oilers. Marco D’Amico of RG Media broke it down following news of Draisaitl’s injury.

D’Amico wrote:

“The Oilers (68gp) are four points up on LA (67gp) and five points up on SJ (65gp). Due to trading their 2027 1st in the Dickinson trade, their 2026 1st (acquired by SJ for Walman) is now unprotected. With Draisaitl out for season, SJ has a “2 birds 1 stone” situation brewing,”

The 30-year-old Draisaitl was putting up his typical outstanding numbers again this season and will finish with 97 points (35 goals, 62 assists) across 65 games played on the campaign.

Trading a 2027 first-round pick in the deal to acquire Jason Dickinson and Colton Dach confirmed that the Sharks pick would become unprotected. While at the time that wasn’t thought to be a concern, the ups and downs of the 2025–26 season and Draisaitl now out of the lineup could result in a nail-biting finish to see where that picks slots.

As D’Amico mentioned, while currently third in the Pacific, Edmonton holds just a four-point cushion over Seattle and Los Angeles, and a five-point lead over San Jose. Not to mention, all three teams have games in hand on the Oilers — the Kraken with two, the Kings with one, and the Sharks with three.

To make matters even more interesting, Edmonton will host San Jose on Tuesday night, of course, without Draisaitl, in one of their biggest regular-season games in some time. Buckle up, because it could be a wild ride the rest of the way in the Pacific Division.

Next: New Name Floated in Search For Canadiens Mystery Trade Target?