Edmonton Oilers place Leon Draisaitl on injured reserve

The Edmonton Oilers have placed Leon Draisaitl on injured reserve today. This comes as a result of the eye injury and concussion-like symptoms he has been suffering from.

The Edmonton Oilers have announced that they have placed Leon Draisaitl on injured reserve. This is a result of the eye injury and concussion-like symptoms he has been suffering since taking a hit from Winnipeg Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba on Oct. 9 in the first period of that game.

Draisaitl did not play in the Oilers 6-1 loss on Saturday to the Ottawa Senators.

It is not known yet how long Draisaitl will be out for, but the Oilers do not look ready to test it. Draisaitl has become a pivotal part of the forwards corps in Edmonton, and they will look to protect one of their stars.

Draisaitl has proven over the last two seasons that he is on the verge of breaking into the upper echelon of forwards in the NHL. And with Connor McDavid to play alongside, this makes it a relatively easy task for someone as talented as Draisaitl.

He had his first big season in 2015-16 when he scored 19 goals and had 32 assists in 72 games for the Oilers. He followed that up with 29 goals and 48 assists in 2016-17.

His solid play the last two seasons earned him a significant pay raise in the offseason. The Oilers handed Draisaitl an eight-year, $68 million contract, which is less than surprising when you see his production and deeper numbers.

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He was off to another good start this season with one goal and two assists in three games so far. And if this ends up being a short-term injury with no lingering effects, it would be less than surprising to see Draisaitl finish at around a point-per-game pace for the season.

With no set timetable yet, the Oilers will be hoping their one-two punch of McDavid and Draisaitl won’t be without half of the duo for long.