Jeff Marek "confirms" Leon Draisaitl, Nikita Kucherov trade swap consideration by Oilers and Bolts in 2019

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I think this is a case where both teams are happy the trade didn't happen lol

 

[Duke74]

Thank god that didn't happen. Holy shit.

Yeah, Draisaitl's such a terrible player. Barely ECHL level at this point.

 

[Fourier]

This would've been in like 2018 or 2019 when the Oilers weren't a playoff team.

Don't think this really moves the needle that much for the Oilers.

Draisaitl is a bigger, younger player who can play center or wing. He's also best friends with McDavid which makes keeping him easier (Drai's fiance is also best friends with McDavid's wife so that doesn't hurt). Two of them have summer homes right next to each other, so they're like never apart, lol. Draisaitl also has significantly higher production in the playoffs than Kucherov does (1.46 ppg vs 1.13 ppg).

I dunno I'm not really choked this didn't go through. Kucherov is an incredible player too but so is Drai, Draisaitl could win the Hart, Art Ross, and Rocket this season as is. Currently first in goals, second in points.

Not every pair of great players mesh. Crosby and Malkin don't really fit so well together. I am not sure that Kucherov would work well with McDavid since there is only one puck. Draisaitl reinvented his game specifically to fit with McDavid. They work together like Gretzky and Kurri. And like Kurri away from Gretzky, when Draisaitl is away from McDavid he plays a very different style of game.

Frankly, from an Oilers perspective, I am happy that this did not happen. I will let Tamp fans assess the deal from their side.

 

[Master P]

Yeah, Draisaitl's such a terrible player. Barely ECHL level at this point.

That’s not what I said?

 

[Duke74]

That’s not what I said?

That seemed like the implication of your post. You sounded like Draisaitl would have been a massive downgrade or something.

 

[Master P]

That seemed like the implication of your post. You sounded like Draisaitl would have been a massive downgrade or something.

Massive downgrade? No, but I do think Tampa is a better team with Kucherov.

 

[Duke74]

Massive downgrade? No, but I do think Tampa is a better team with Kucherov.

Fair enough. It's probably better for both teams that the trade never went down. For all we know, the entire thing was manufactured by the media to get clicks.

 

[Master P]

Fair enough. It's probably better for both teams that the trade never went down. For all we know, the entire thing was manufactured by the media to get clicks.

Most likely. And if Kucherov played with McDavid then y’all would have been ripping out your hair watching each guy pass it back to the other. Both refusing to shoot.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

Not every pair of great players mesh. Crosby and Malkin don't really fit so well together. I am not sure that Kucherov would work well with McDavid since there is only one puck. Draisaitl reinvented his game specifically to fit with McDavid. They work together like Gretzky and Kurri. And like Kurri away from Gretzky, when Draisaitl is away from McDavid he plays a very different style of game.

Frankly, from an Oilers perspective, I am happy that this did not happen. I will let Tamp fans assess the deal from their side.

On Tampa's side it's REALLY hard to dispute the 2 cups.
I 100% get why Tampa wouldn't do this. They would be potentially trading away those 2 cups in retrospect.

But it's easy to see why Kuch wouldn't be in any kind of position to replicate that success in Edmonton.


But it's a interesting question that REALLY makes me wonder.

 

[Fourier]

Most likely. And if Kucherov played with McDavid then y’all would have been ripping out your hair watching each guy pass it back to the other. Both refusing to shoot.

This is why they probably would not fit well together. When Driasaitl came into the league he was a pass first, pass second and pass third guy whose game was about slowing things down. That is almost the opposite of what he is when he plays with McDavid. He started in about their second year together to work on his shot including that one-timer from just off the goal line specifically to fit with McDavid on the pp. It quickly became a thing during warm-ups as those two would do their own thing while the rest of the warm-up took place. As they started to play more together you started to see Leon play that high tempo game the McDavid plays but in a complementary role as a finisher.

Would Kucherov had adapted his game? We will never know. But it is hard to imagine a better complementary player for McDavid than Draisaitl.

 

[Reality Czech]

Kucherov is the better player. No cap. Oiler fans are either liars or not able to properly assess players if they believe anything to the contrary.

Why not both.

Who knows how many similar discussions are had among GMs but doesn't mean they were that close to happening.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

This is why they probably would not fit well together. When Driasaitl came into the league he was a pass first, pass second and pass third guy whose game was about slowing things down. That is almost the opposite of what he is when he plays with McDavid. He started in about their second year together to work on his shot including that one-timer from just off the goal line specifically to fit with McDavid on the pp. It quickly became a thing during warm-ups as those two would do their own thing while the rest of the warm-up took place. As they started to play more together you started to see Leon play that high tempo game the McDavid plays but in a complementary role as a finisher.

So much creativity.

"How can Leon get a shot off, by evading defenders"

They invented the off-hand fake-bumper shot:


So far in the corner any defender would be insane to try and defend you that out of position shot:
(This became "his Office")

Awkward angle deflection:

 

[MessierThanThou]

The same amount Tampa would have won with Stuart Skinner in net. 0. Those two are far from the reason they haven't won.

Funny how they leave out that pesky little detail about Tampa having a Vezina-winning goalie and Edmonton having Stuart Skinner, who, it bears repeating, has the worst numbers of any goalie to ever make it to a SCF since...ever? I mean when adjusting for the era it probably would rank near the very bottom all-time in a league that has been around for 107 years.

And dare I bring up how the Oilers losing to Vegas in 2023 is almost entirely on Stu? Where he was even outplayed by his possibly drunk teammate who is now in the minors...

But hey, Stu has been mostly good lately! He's probably not even doing that badly, right? This could be his year! Third time's the charm, baby!

(looks at GSAA on NHL Goalie Advanced Stats 2024-2025 and sees Stu at 75th, eleven spots away from dead last)

 

[Fourier]

So much creativity.

"How can Leon get a shot off, by evading defenders"

They invented the off-hand fake-bumper shot:


So far in the corner any defender would be insane to try and defend you that out of position shot:
(This became "his Office")

Awkward angle deflection:

That second goal is what I was talking about in my previous post. I spend a lot of time in Edmonton for both personal and business purposes. This was particularly true in McDavid's first couple of years McDavid's. I remember watching these two in warm-ups with Leon taking passes from McDavid just above the goal line for one-timers. This surprised me because as a STH for many years I don't think I had ever seen anything quite like it. This was especially true because at the time Draisaitl was not really viewed as a sniper but rather possibly as a future elite playmaker.

Even back then it was uncanny how accurate he was. But nothing like he has become. It would be interesting to see how many goals he scored from that position in those first few years. Today it is bread and butter.

The first video is another move that they tried a fair bit before it worked. It is actually almost impossible to defend. John Gibson talks about it in his Players Tribune article:

Elite 101: Goal Scorers | By John Gibson

I’m going to give you the five players that I hate playing against the most, in no particular order. Right now.

www.theplayerstribune.com

 

[independent observer]

That could have been a win win…

Draisaitl and Kucherov are for me both top 5 offense talents

One could say that a center has more value but Kucherov is next to McDavid the best producer and i think he would be a better fit next to McDavid

Especially on the PP Kucherov as a right shot would probably complement McDavid slightly better

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

That could have been a win win…

Draisaitl and Kucherov are for me both top 5 offense talents

One could say that a center has more value but Kucherov is next to McDavid the best producer and i think he would be a better fit next to McDavid

Especially on the PP Kucherov as a right shot would probably complement McDavid slightly better

Draisaitl is a #1 center on most teams in the NHL...that's the difference for me

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

Excellent question!

If you were an owner, for instance, would you tolerate your staff to sign and employ trash borderline/sub 900 netminding with all the money you have wrapped up in just McD and Drai alone? I'd ice the finest team I could assemble around them.

When GMs or upper management are allowed to f-k around with acquiring players like Skinner (and do NOT get me started on Oilers netminding over the past decade...W...T...F...), who else do you lay blame on?

The same amount Tampa would have won with Stuart Skinner in net. 0. Those two are far from the reason they haven't won.

Their approach to goaltending has been bewildering to say the least. 40 year old Mike Smith, Talbot, Koskinen, Campbell, now Skinner. Woof. Throwing away prime years of McDavid-Draisaitl with bottom of the barrel goaltending. The rest of the team seems quite good at this point.

 

[PaulD]

Merrick trying to be relevant? Pretty weak attempt.

"Nobody wants to hear about something you didnt do" - Gord Downey

 

[FDBluth]

I think McDavid turns into more of the goalscorer with Kucherov. Draisaitl's an elite passer but Kucherov has incredible game vision. I'm sure he'd find McDavid in all kinds of ways for layups to get him the puck with speed.

However McDavid and Draisaitl are bffs and I don't think Kucherov and McDavid would ever have personalities that gel like that.

 

[EdmFlyersfan]

Kucherov > Drai

 

[McAsuno]

Kucherov > Drai

You = obsessed with the Oilers.