Today, NHL legend Pavel Datsyuk spoke to the media during an interview and gave a surprising opinion on the talents of Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. The Edmonton Oilers have separated themselves as one of the premier teams in the NHL over the last two seasons. During their <a href='https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/sports/nhl/nhl-teams-back-to-back-stanley-cup-finals-losses/3638568/?amp=1' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals runs</a>, the Oilers have heavily relied on Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid leading many to compare the two to one another. In the eyes of many, McDavid is clearly the better player with Draisaitl being a step below him. However, in a new interview, former Detroit Red Wing Pavel Datsyuk revealed that he does not believe that is the case anymore. <h3>NHL Legend Pavel Datsyuk Believes Leon Draisaitl Is On The Same Level As Connor McDavid</h3> During a <a href='https://rg.org/news/hockey/pavel-datsyuk-detroit-future-no-13-jersey-modern-nhl-trends' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>recent interview with Sergey Demidov of RG Media</a> Datsyuk discussed the amazing talent of Draisaitl and McDavid. Datsyuk made sure when talking about the duo to compliment Draisaitl in particular making the claim that he is the best player in the NHL over his teammate Connor McDavid. It's hard to pick one, since I don't follow that closely. But I like Leon Draisaitl. I disagree that he's in Connor McDavid's shadow - his decision-making speed is excellent. There are a lot of good players out there. This is a massive sign of respect from Datsyuk who is a two time Stanley Cup Champion, multi time Selke Trophy winner and Hockey Hall of Famer. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/jfreshhockey/status/1805686729460109494'><div style='border:1px solid #CCCCCC;border-radius:10px;padding:20px;width:300px;'>Loading from Twitter ...</div></a></blockquote></div> Even bigger for Draisaitl in particular as Leon has admitted in the past that Datsyuk was a personal hero of his growing up. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/timandfriends/status/1261048465263656964'><div style='border:1px solid #CCCCCC;border-radius:10px;padding:20px;width:300px;'>Loading from Twitter ...</div></a></blockquote></div> While many around the league would not agree with this take Draisaitl has proven in the past he can take over and play at an MVP level when needed. As the 2025-26 season gets underway, it will be fun to see if Draisaitl can live up to the praise for Datsyuk and overtake McDavid as the consensus best player in the NHL.