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Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl disputes challenge of playing in a Canadian market

Originally posted on NHL on ClutchPoints
By Troy Finnegan | Last updated May 19, 2025 5:00 PM ET

The 32-year Stanley Cup drought for Canadian NHL teams is still alive and well, and now there is only one team left who can out it to bed. The Edmonton Oilers are the last hope for Canada after the Toronto Maple Leafs got blitzed by the Florida Panthers 6-1 in Game 7 on home ice.

A lot of the talk after that game surrounded the pressure that the Maple Leafs are under to get the job done in the postseason year after year. Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said that the scrutiny that the Leafs specifically operate under is great for the NHL, but bad for the team.

The Oilers have handled the postseason spotlight much better than Toronto has in recent years despite not getting to the top of the mountain yet. On Monday, star forward Leon Draisaitl talked about the pressure of playing for a Canadian team, though he disagrees with the negativity around it via Adhi on X, formerly Twitter.

Draisaitl on playing in a Canadian market: “I don’t know if teams feel that they get under pressure with that… but we can handle it” pic.twitter.com/f1OYr4WV9O

— Adhi (@OilerAlert) May 19, 2025

“The pressure is higher here of course, from media, fans, the expectations, that’s the way it is,” Draisaitl said. “It’s a hockey country. It starts with hockey and ends with hockey in this country. I don’t know if teams feel that they get under pressure with that, I’m not the right person to answer that. But we can handle it and we’re excited to get back to playing.”

Of course, the Oilers were just one game away from ending that Canadian Stanley Cup drought a season ago, coming back from 3-0 down in the Stanley Cup Final to force a Game 7 against the Florida Panthers before eventually losing the decisive game by just one goal.

Draisaitl and company have another great chance to get back to that stage this season. They will take on the Dallas Stars, who they beat in the conference finals last season, in a rematch between two of the best teams in hockey. The winner will take on either the Carolina Hurricanes or the Panthers in the Cup Final, so it could be a rematch of that epic series from a year ago as the Oilers try to being the Cup back to Canada.

This article first appeared on NHL on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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