"Bringing this team down": Leon Draisaitl pinned for Edmonton Oilers struggles in rant by Gavin Turinek 

By Srihari Anand

Modified Nov 19, 2023 12:08 GMT

Leon Draisaitl came under heavy fire from Gavin Turinek, producer of the Oilersnation podcast.

Turinek went on a rant on Leon Draisaitl was part of the show's post-game reaction to the Oilers' 6-4 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. His spicy take was Draisaitl bringing the entire team's performance down after a 5-10-2 start.

Starting with Leon Draisaitl being in the center of Oilers trade rumors, Turinek dove deep into the German's current form and said:

"Drai's name has gotten brought up in trade rumors. That stuff kills me. If he's not performing like we know he can be, you've gotta start wondering - Is he a right fit for this Edmonton Oilers team? I really do hope so. But (from) what we're seeing right now, he's bringing this team down if anything."

Draisaitl is off to a slow start this season in terms of scoring. He has netted six goals in 16 games for the Oilers.

Turinek's rant started with Leon Draisaitl's post-game presser after the loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning yesterday. The $68,000,000 German winger was wearing a cap and covered himself with a hoodie after the loss.

The Oilersnation producer did not like Draisaitl's getup and said:

"I'm so frickin' sick of 29 both on and off the ice. His whole stick of his postgame interview with the hood up, just his attitude has me up against ethe wall. Seeing him on the ice too, he's not backchecking. He looks fricking slow. This guy has to figure it out."

Turinek wants MVP Leon Draisaitl back

Leon Draisaitl won the 2020 Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player. He had 43 goals and 67 assists for 110 points in 71 games to edge teammate Connor McDavid in that season's scoring race.

Reminiscing his MVP season, Turinek said:

"Do something man! You won MVP for us when McDavid was out, you're not stepping up for us. Enough is enough 29. You're supposed to be one of the top tier players in the league and we're just not seeing it at this moment."

The Edmonton Oilers are currently 5-10-1 after the loss to Tampa. They're under new head coach Ken Knoblauch after firing Jay Woodcroft and his assistant coach.

Turinek urged Draisaitl to step up barring which the Oilers will not succeed:

"Instead of being a baby in your postgame interviews with your hood up acting like the top dog in the league right now, which you quite honestly are not Drai.This team will not be succeeding without you performing the way you can."