Leon Draisaitl won’t be making a surprise return to National Hockey League ice on Thursday night or any night for the next three weeks at least. The Edmonton Oilers placed the star centre on the long-term injured reserve list on Thursday morning, meaning Draisaitl will miss at least 10 games and 24 calendar days of action. That means Draisaitl will miss at least 11 Oilers games and could return to the lineup as soon as April 11, in Los Angeles against the Kings, for the team’s final three games of the regular season. The Oilers (34-26-9) host the Florida Panthers on Thursday night (7 p.m.) in a Stanley Cup rematch. The Panthers (33-31-3), who sit 13 points out of the NHL playoff picture in the Eastern Conference heading into the game, beat the Oilers in the final the previous two seasons. The Draisaitl move allows the Oilers to subtract his salary from the books while he’s gone. They’ve called up forward Roby Jarventie from the Bakersfield Condors, their American Hockey League affiliate, as a result. Draisaitl was injured Sunday night in the Oilers’ 3-1 win over the Nashville Predators. The 30-year-old German left the ice in the first period after a hit by Predators forward Ozzy Wiesblatt into the boards at the Oilers’ bench. Draisaitl slowly made his way off the ice and didn’t return to the game. The Oilers announced Tuesday he would miss the rest of the regular season. Jarventie, 23, has scored 17 goals and 19 assists for 36 points in 52 games for the Condors this season. He was acquired by the Oilers, along with a fourth-round draft pick, in July 2024 from the Ottawa Senators for forwards Xavier Bourgault and Jake Chiasson. The Finn has seven NHL games of experience, all with the Senators in November 2023, recording an assist.
