Oilers Draisaitl is on pace for the second-best season in the NHL’s 103-year history
There’s no denying that Leon Draisaitl is one of the best players in the NHL. He’s found himself at or the league in each of the last three years and can seemingly score at will.
Since the start of the 2018-19 season, he’s scored 335 points — 15 behind teammate Connor McDavid for the lead and a whopping 58 points more than third placed Patrick Kane, who has scored a respectable 277 points in 222 games.
But this year? Leon Draisaitl is on another level. He’s scored 18 goals and 36 points in 18 games this year and is currently on pace for a staggering 164 points over the 82-game season.
And even more impressively, his production is among the best in NHL history.
According to stats site Hockey Reference, Leon Draisaitl era-adjusted points currently sits at 170 heading into Wednesday night’s games placing him in a tie with Wayne Gretzky for the second best season in NHL history.
In order to account for the many different era’s the NHL has seen, Hockey Reference adjusts all statistics to account for the “different schedule lengths, roster sizes, and scoring environments” of those eras. The statistics are adjusted to an 82-game schedule with a maximum roster size of 18 and league averages of six goals per game, and 1.67 assists per goal.
Draisaitl’s pace is red hot and it doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. While Draisaitl is still 20 era-adjust points from the top spot, belonging to Howie Morenz who had 190 era-adjusted points in 1927-28, he rests in incredible company.
Last season, his teammate McDavid finished the year with 158 era-adjusted points placing him 10th, while Draisaitl’s 127 put him in the top 50. This year, however, is completely different.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.