When Leon Draisaitl stepped in front of the microphones again after losing the last game of the playoff series in the North American ice hockey professional league NHL against Las Vegas, he pressed every single word into the world. And tears lurked behind every sentence. Once again, the illustrious Oilers of Edmonton were unable to live up to all the early praise that had been thrown at the top-scoring team of the main round.
“I also have to take a good look at my own nose”, said Draisaitl almost without a voice. And at that moment, the native of Cologne was certainly not thinking about a trip to Tampere in the Finnish provinces for the Ice Hockey World Championship.
But right here, in “Manchester, Finland”, all the wheels have been set in motion to persuade one of the best ice hockey players in the world to take part. As DEB sports director, Christian Künast had asked Draisaitl’s basic willingness well in advance of the title fights and at least didn’t get a basket. What followed after that were phone calls with sponsors and also with the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB). Because a World Cup with Draisaitl costs a lot of money, not a fee or even an entry bonus for the superstar, but a considerable sum insured.
“It won’t fail because of the money”
As with all other professionals from North America, this sum is based on the residual value of the current club contract. In the case of Draisaitl and the Oilers, the agreement is only valid for two more years, so “only” $17 million would have to be insured. Insurance would have to be taken out for this, which costs around 100,000 euros. Without insurance, there’s no release from the Oilers.
The case of goalkeeper Philipp Grubauer, who was eliminated with Seattle in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, is similar but different. His annual salary is $5.9 million but is guaranteed for another four years. The sum insured is correspondingly higher here. However, DEB sports director Christian Künast has repeatedly emphasized that “a World Cup participation of these players will not fail for financial reasons”.
Olympic qualification is at stake
So the money is there, provided by a pool of sponsors, by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and also by the DOSB, because the current World Championship also offers the chance to qualify directly for the next Olympic Winter Games in Milan. For that, the current world rankings ninth Germany would have to make up a place in the rankings and overtake either Slovakia or Switzerland. Without a quarter-final participation, however, that is practically impossible.
Marcel Müller: “I can’t judge that”
And is he coming now, the Draisaitl? And what about Grubauer? Answers to these questions can only come from North America and are yet to come. Team captain Moritz Müller, who is also on friendly terms with Draisaitl, hopes for the superstar, but limits: “I don’t know how his health is. He was ailing, how else his private situation is – I can’t assess all that.” And national coach Harald Kreis would also like to keep the topic small: “Every coach would like to have Leon in his team. But I can’t answer that question because I don’t have the information about his situation.”
And as if all of this wasn’t complicated enough, there’s also the following to consider. After the playoff, there are still talks between the sports management and the players in the NHL clubs. In addition, a final medical examination. All of this sometimes takes a week. Then an almost 24-hour journey awaits. So everything takes a certain amount of time. Draisaitl has endured this hardship more often in the recent past, most recently at the 2019 World Cup. But then, after a disappointing end of the season for the Oilers, the tears dried up faster than this year.