Bang. Boom. The Oilers’ season along with Connor McDavid’s shoulder was breaking down before everyone’s eyes. It all happened in a flash.
While Brandon Manning of the Philadelphia Flyers was doing his best impression of a pylon on the play, he also somehow managed to give a shove to McDavid during his shot which caused the player to lose his balance and crash nearly head-first into the boards.
The immediate reaction of surrounding players like Sam Gagner and Manning was scary to see. They both looked at McDavid as if they had killed a unicorn. You don’t normally see players recoil when there’s an injury to an opposing playing. Instead, you will often see indifference, but while McDavid lay on the ice wincing in pain, you could see the players startled by the end result.
https://twitter.com/LukePeristy/status/661967250908409857
While the Tweet presented is funny in nature, it is also isn’t too far from the truth.
The team and the mini turnaround it has seen coincides greatly with the arrival of McDavid. McDavid was named the rookie of the month in October, which normally wouldn’t be too big of a deal but the competition was fierce and is shaping up to be one of the better rookie classes. As observers we are going to be missing out on the Calder Trophy race. We have the likes of Jack Eichel and Max Domi but the race isn’t nearly as interesting without McDavid. I guess on one hand McDavid is giving them a little bit of a head start, which is only fair considering his record setting month.
An angle that won’t get nearly the same play is the weakness of the Pacific Division. The Oilers legitimately have an opportunity to make some noise this season. They have been dealing with injuries across the board and are still remaining afloat. The Oilers making waves out west is a good problem to have and the team doesn’t need any more lottery picks. That’s a road that they are heading down if they aren’t careful.
Many laugh about the possibility of the team picking first overall again but that isn’t the solution for the Oilers. They need to start competing and showing their merit or the players entering their prime could soon be on the decline. They are still a couple years away from that possibility, but wasted talent is a distinct possibility in Edmonton.
Fans in Edmonton won’t lose their fervor for the team but the excitement around a player like McDavid is palpable. Everyone wants to anoint a savior for the league but the problem surrounding doing so is that most of these “saviors” fail to live up to the hype. For every Sidney Crosby, you have a Jordan Staal who is simply a good player. McDavid in his short tenure is looking like the real deal, which is not only a good sign for Edmonton but for the league as well. More eyes is good for the game and Connor McDavid sure brings them.
