Accredited Edmonton Oilers reporter and PHWA member reporting on the latest sports news in the Alberta capital.

Leon Draisaitl could be back in time for playoff games for the Edmonton Oilers.
The team announced on Tuesday that <a href="https://dailyhive.com/edmonton/oilers-reveal-draisaitl-injury-worse-expected" target="_blank">Draisaitl would be out for the remainder of the season</a> with a lower-body injury. Specifics on what exactly the injury was and when he is expected to return to the lineup were not revealed.
This caused some fans to worry that the German superstar may miss playoff games, and that was reinforced when head coach Kris Knoblauch refused to give a definitive answer on his playoff status after Tuesday night&#8217;s victory over the San Jose Sharks.
There does, however, seem to be some hope within the organization that Draisaitl will be healthy for an upcoming playoff run. NHL insider Elliotte Friedman was able to get another update on Draisaitl&#8217;s status from Oilers GM Stan Bowman on Wednesday morning.
&#8220;If everything goes as scheduled, [Draisaitl] should be back at end of the regular season,&#8221; Friedman shared on X. &#8220;[Draisaitl] does not need surgery.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Oilers GM Stan Bowman on Leon Draisaitl:
If everything goes as scheduled, he should be back at end of the regular season 
Does not need surgery
&mdash; Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) <a href="https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/2034272631009030554?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Though it won&#8217;t lessen the sting of not having Draisaitl available for this final playoff push, it should quell fears that this injury could knock him out for the entire year. If that were the case, Edmonton&#8217;s odds of getting back to a third-straight Stanley Cup Final would take a considerable hit.
It&#8217;s also great to hear that no surgery will be required to fix whatever is wrong with Draisaitl, which still hasn&#8217;t been disclosed.
The first game without Draisaitl went just about as well as you could ask if you&#8217;re Edmonton. A bevy of depth players stepped up, with <a href="https://dailyhive.com/edmonton/max-jones-fun-answer-scoring-oilers-game-winner" target="_blank">Max Jones scoring the game-winner</a> and Adam Henrique notching two assists. Defensive defenceman Connor Murphy even got in on the fun, scoring his first goal as an Oiler.
Edmonton will need more games like that down the stretch to help fill the void left by Draisaitl&#8217;s absence.
<ul class="article-see-also">You might also like:<li><a href='https://dailyhive.com/edmonton/max-jones-fun-answer-scoring-oilers-game-winner' target='_blank'>Max Jones had fun answer after scoring massive Edmonton Oilers game-winner</a></li><li><a href='https://dailyhive.com/edmonton/calgary-flames-pissed-edmonton-involvement-world-cup-of-hockey' target='_blank'>Calgary Flames fans pissed off at Edmonton’s involvement in World Cup of Hockey</a></li><li><a href='https://dailyhive.com/edmonton/parros-snaps-back-mcdavid-casts-doubt-nhl-player-safety' target='_blank'>George Parros snaps back after McDavid casts doubt on NHL Player Safety</a></li></ul>

Edmonton

Leon Draisaitl could be back in time for playoff games for the Edmonton Oilers, according to an injury update from GM Stan Bowman.