Oilers drop post-Olympic shocker regarding silver medalist Connor McDavid
Photo credit: James Lang-Imagn Images
As the Olympics came to an end, a report suggested that McDavid may not return to the Oilers right away.
The Edmonton Oilers currently sit in a playoff spot, but things are going to get tight down the last stretch before the playoffs, and a new report on McDavid is not ideal for the Oilers.
After completely emptying the physical tank and desperately battling in the dirty areas during a heartbreaking gold medal loss to Team USA, generational phenom Connor McDavid is not expected to rejoin the Oilers lineup right away.
Surviving the suffocating pressure of the NHL without your franchise heartbeat constantly generating dangerous controlled entries is an incredibly tough pill to swallow for the demanding coaching staff.
«I don't think he will leave immediately, but I think tomorrow is exactly when he joins the team,» Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said Sunday. «And when he's ready to play, we'll obviously have to have some conversations with him.»
The organization bluntly admitted to reporters, noting that forcing him to play 23-24 minutes a night right after massive European travel is absolutely not putting him in a position to deliver solid execution.
McDavid not expected to be back right away
You simply cannot afford to see your elite superstars mistakenly post a -3 rating because they lack vital rest and their highly reliable transition game is completely shattered by intense Olympic fatigue.
McDavid heavily relied on crisp passing and constant physical sacrifice to lead Team Canada to a devastating silver medal, logging heavy, terrifying minutes against elite international competition on the global stage.
If the Oilers want to continuously overwhelm heavy divisional opponents down the final critical stretch, they desperately need their captain at absolute maximum offensive firepower, not completely running on fumes.
Expect the Edmonton coaching staff to rely on their depth forwards to strictly dictate the physical pace and heavily establish a suffocating forecheck until McDavid officially straps his skates back on and reunites with the locked-in locker room.
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| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 24|183 ANSWERS Oilers drop post-Olympic shocker regarding silver medalist Connor McDavid Should the Oilers rest Connor McDavid for multiple games to recover from the Olympics? | ||
| Yes | 107 | 58.5 % |
| No | 76 | 41.5 % |
| List of polls | ||