diff --git a/backend/cmd/headlamp.go b/backend/cmd/headlamp.go
index 59a3c563193..02813d83c63 100644
--- a/backend/cmd/headlamp.go
+++ b/backend/cmd/headlamp.go
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ import (
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/codes"
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric"
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace"
+	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	apierrors "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors"
 	v1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	k8sruntime "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
@@ -2707,8 +2708,7 @@ func (c *HeadlampConfig) drainNode(clientset kubernetes.Interface, nodeName stri
 		var deleteErrors []string
 
 		for _, pod := range pods.Items {
-			// ignore daemonsets
-			if pod.Labels["kubernetes.io/created-by"] == "daemonset-controller" {
+			if isDaemonSetPod(pod) {
 				continue
 			}
 
@@ -2731,6 +2731,22 @@ func (c *HeadlampConfig) drainNode(clientset kubernetes.Interface, nodeName stri
 	}()
 }
 
+// isDaemonSetPod reports whether pod should be treated as managed by a DaemonSet.
+// It supports both the legacy daemonset-controller label and modern owner references.
+func isDaemonSetPod(pod corev1.Pod) bool {
+	if pod.Labels["kubernetes.io/created-by"] == "daemonset-controller" {
+		return true
+	}
+
+	for _, owner := range pod.OwnerReferences {
+		if owner.Kind == "DaemonSet" && (owner.APIVersion == "" || strings.HasPrefix(owner.APIVersion, "apps/")) {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+
+	return false
+}
+
 /*
 * Handle node drain status
 Since node drain is an async operation, we need to poll for the status of the drain operation
diff --git a/backend/cmd/headlamp_test.go b/backend/cmd/headlamp_test.go
index c13401721e9..23c6296f966 100644
--- a/backend/cmd/headlamp_test.go
+++ b/backend/cmd/headlamp_test.go
@@ -655,7 +655,13 @@ func TestDrainNodePodDeletionFailure(t *testing.T) { //nolint:funlen
 		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
 			Name:      "pod-daemonset",
 			Namespace: "default",
-			Labels:    map[string]string{"kubernetes.io/created-by": "daemonset-controller"},
+			OwnerReferences: []metav1.OwnerReference{
+				{
+					APIVersion: "apps/v1",
+					Kind:       "DaemonSet",
+					Name:       "node-agent",
+				},
+			},
 		},
 		Spec: corev1.PodSpec{
 			NodeName: "test-node",
@@ -721,6 +727,7 @@ func TestDrainNodePodDeletionFailure(t *testing.T) { //nolint:funlen
 	assert.True(t, strings.HasPrefix(status, "error:"),
 		"expected error status, got: %s", status)
 	assert.Contains(t, status, "failed to delete")
+	assert.ElementsMatch(t, []string{"pod-ok", "pod-fail"}, deletedPodNames(fakeClient.Actions()))
 }
 
 func TestDrainNodeAllPodsDeletedSuccessfully(t *testing.T) {
@@ -782,6 +789,24 @@ func TestDrainNodeAllPodsDeletedSuccessfully(t *testing.T) {
 	require.True(t, ok)
 
 	assert.Equal(t, "success", status)
+
+	assert.ElementsMatch(t, []string{"pod-1"}, deletedPodNames(fakeClient.Actions()))
+}
+
+// deletedPodNames returns the pod names from delete actions recorded by the fake client.
+func deletedPodNames(actions []k8stesting.Action) []string {
+	deletedPods := []string{}
+
+	for _, action := range actions {
+		if action.GetVerb() != "delete" || action.GetResource().Resource != "pods" {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		deleteAction := action.(k8stesting.DeleteAction)
+		deletedPods = append(deletedPods, deleteAction.GetName())
+	}
+
+	return deletedPods
 }
 
 func TestDeletePlugin(t *testing.T) {