The Oilers danced around the issue of Leon Draisaitl having “Concussion-Type Symptoms… for a few days, but they are now treating it like a concussion. We have no idea how long he will be out.
The thing is, Draisaitl has a brain injury and it could be symptom free tomorrow or he may not be symptom free for weeks or longer. He could feel better today and have a major set-back tomorrow. He took a smack on the noggin and hurt the most important organ in his body.
Who knows how long this could be?
As such, the Oil have placed him on the IR and we’re just waiting this out and hoping he makes a full recovery. Unlike the other guy the Oil placed on IR, there isn’t really a ready-made replacement for Draisaitl in the lineup. His loss is going to be felt heavily.
Drake Caggiula is the other guy on the IR for…reasons. The nature of his injury hasn’t really been given full coverage. He got hurt in game and hasn’t been right since. Ok. Sure.
The club recalled Brad Malone last night from the Bakersfield Condors. Malone was a late cut in the preseason after he made a solid pitch to stay on as a bottom 6 forward. The ginger center/left winger has NHL size at 6’2… 200+ pounds, and he showed a greasy element to his game when I was watching.
In three games with the Condors this season, Malone has 2-1-3. With Caggiula gone, we can anticipate Malone finding a spot on the 4th line if Khaira slips. Despite his fast start to the year, he has not really been known for offense at the AHL level. It’s unlikely that he found a new level of play at 28 years of age, but why not take the confidant, hot hand?
I can’t think of any harm there would be in taking Malone over someone like Puljujarvi in this scenario. If he plays at all, it will be in the bottom 6. If the open spot was beside McDavid or RNH, there would be a different set of expectations. He was very good in preseason and in the AHL and there’s a spot open at his position on the roster. No brainer.
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