Player Discussion Connor McDavid Part III | UPD: Will Play Tuesday!!!!!

[shoop]

Wouldn't want his clavicle to only be at 120%.

Better shelf him till 2017.

And waste all that salary money?

Since the doctors have cleared him best to trade him now while he still has some value left.

 

[Oiler Crude]

Is it just me or do the Oilers seem to always bring up some McDavid news whenever they go into a tailspin or losing streak? If only they put as much effort on the ice as they do in the spin dept!

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Is it just me or do the Oilers seem to always bring up some McDavid news whenever they go into a tailspin or losing streak? If only they put as much effort on the ice as they do in the spin dept!

"Hope is coming! Don't worry about that 4 game losing streak, McDavid is almost back!"

 

[boosterjuice]

so what game could he return for? What's the average amount of team practicing before getting in the lineup?

 

[T-Funk]

so what game could he return for? What's the average amount of team practicing before getting in the lineup?

Wasn't it said a few days ago on Gregor that he would be 10-12 days away?
That would be Tampa on the 8th or Florida on the 10th?

Really would be a good idea to get his first games in at home and there's a few game road trip after those games.

 

[McOvechking]

How many games have Draisaitl and McDavid played in together? I'm excited to see the three headed monster of Drai, McJesus, and RNH.

 

[SegzKnightlySpoons]

How many games have Draisaitl and McDavid played in together? I'm excited to see the three headed monster of Drai, McJesus, and RNH.

Wasn't many, but one was that 4-3 win over Montreal after being down 0-3

 

[Draiskull]

How many games have Draisaitl and McDavid played in together? I'm excited to see the three headed monster of Drai, McJesus, and RNH.

They played 3 together.. In those 3 games the line of Hall-RNH-Drai combined for 20pts.

 

[McOvechking]

Wasn't many, but one was that 4-3 win over Montreal after being down 0-3

They played 3 together.. In those 3 games the line of Hall-RNH-Drai combined for 20pts.

Exactly. I think having McDavid back will help this team more than people realize.

 

[Soundwave]

Exactly. I think having McDavid back will help this team more than people realize.

People here still don't realize how good McDavid is. His impact on the team will be monumental and yes players like RNH and Draisaitl will benefit considerably from him back.

 

[McOvechking]

People here still don't realize how good McDavid is. His impact on the team will be monumental and yes players like RNH and Draisaitl will benefit considerably from him back.

You're right. I think a lot of people have forgotten what he did in his first 13 games in the NHL. This team is absolutely a playoff team with McDavid in the lineup. He's that good.

 

[KCC]

You're right. I think a lot of people have forgotten what he did in his first 13 games in the NHL. This team is absolutely a playoff team with McDavid in the lineup. He's that good.

He pushes the pace at a high level and forces everyone to have to keep up. I get that. But it's pretty sad that the team is depending on an 18 year old kid.

Maybe if the other players would move their darn feet on a nightly basis, worked hard and stopped standing around like pylons they'd be better? Keep saying this but injuries are not an excuse to not work hard.

Teams like Carolina or even Arizona who you didn't expect to do anything this year are at least .500 because they work hard every game. Some nights their goaltenders stand on their heads, but often are right there and out play opposing teams. Something EDM sorely lacks.

 

[CupofOil]

You're right. I think a lot of people have forgotten what he did in his first 13 games in the NHL. This team is absolutely a playoff team with McDavid in the lineup. He's that good.

They were 4-8 with him and were doing pretty well without McDavid before Klefbom went down.
Even with McDavid, they have no shot of the playoffs without Klefbom.
Obviously McDavid is a far better talent than Klefbom but considering the Oilers position depth, Klefbom is a more impactful loss.

 

[McOvechking]

He pushes the pace at a high level and forces everyone to have to keep up. I get that. But it's pretty sad that the team is depending on an 18 year old kid.

Maybe if the other players would move their darn feet on a nightly basis, worked hard and stopped standing around like pylons they'd be better? Keep saying this but injuries are not an excuse to not work hard.

Teams like Carolina or even Arizona who you didn't expect to do anything this year are at least .500 because they work hard every game. Some nights their goaltenders stand on their heads, but often are right there and out play opposing teams. Something EDM sorely lacks.

Couldn't agree more. That lack of compete this team has is really depressing to watch.

They were 4-8 with him and were doing pretty well without McDavid before Klefbom went down.
Even with McDavid, they have no shot of the playoffs without Klefbom.
Obviously McDavid is a far better talent than Klefbom but considering the Oilers position depth, Klefbom is a more impactful loss.

The team struggled out of the gates like always, but once Draisaitl got called up they were rolling. And you have to remember those were McDavid's first dozen games in the NHL. I think he'll make more of an impact in the second half of the season here.

I agree, this team is really missing Klefbom right now. I'm eating crow on some of my comments about him. Hopefully he's not out too much longer.

 

[Mr Positive]

You're right. I think a lot of people have forgotten what he did in his first 13 games in the NHL. This team is absolutely a playoff team with McDavid in the lineup. He's that good.

McDavid can help us win some games but he can't turn us into a winning team. We weren't a winning team when he was playing for us.

Our playoff chances depend on our defense. We need Klefbom back, and we need Schultz to step up. The D on our six game streak was this:

Nurse Sekera
Klefbom Davidson
Schultz Gryba
/Fayne

That's not a great D but it can tread water enough for our goalies and forwards to excel. Take out a major piece like Klefbom or Sekera and it's over.

 

[Tyrolean]

He pushes the pace at a high level and forces everyone to have to keep up. I get that. But it's pretty sad that the team is depending on an 18 year old kid.

Maybe if the other players would move their darn feet on a nightly basis, worked hard and stopped standing around like pylons they'd be better? Keep saying this but injuries are not an excuse to not work hard.

Teams like Carolina or even Arizona who you didn't expect to do anything this year are at least .500 because they work hard every game. Some nights their goaltenders stand on their heads, but often are right there and out play opposing teams. Something EDM sorely lacks.

Damn right. Oilers have the talent, but not the smarts or willpower to get dirty and interrupt cycles and stick to the man. Schultz is the absolute epitome of that. Until all players commit to max. effort the team will always be losers.

 

[McOvechking]

McDavid can help us win some games but he can't turn us into a winning team. We weren't a winning team when he was playing for us.

Our playoff chances depend on our defense. We need Klefbom back, and we need Schultz to step up. The D on our six game streak was this:

Nurse Sekera
Klefbom Davidson
Schultz Gryba
/Fayne

That's not a great D but it can tread water enough for our goalies and forwards to excel. Take out a major piece like Klefbom or Sekera and it's over.

I disagree. Once McDavid gets rolling again, he will turn us into a winning team. Not because he does it all himself, but he elevates the players around him. This is a deflated, beaten down, sullen, sunken team. He changes all of that. He brings hope. As cheesy as that sounds. Everyone brings their A-game when McDavid is in the lineup.

Damn right. Oilers have the talent, but not the smarts or willpower to get dirty and interrupt cycles and stick to the man. Schultz is the absolute epitome of that. Until all players commit to max. effort the team will always be losers.

I imagine Schultz will be getting waived once Klefbom is back. Fayne got waived and is playing better.

 

[Mr Positive]

I disagree. Once McDavid gets rolling again, he will turn us into a winning team. Not because he does it all himself, but he elevates the players around him. This is a deflated, beaten down, sullen, sunken team. He changes all of that. He brings hope. As cheesy as that sounds. Everyone brings their A-game when McDavid is in the lineup.


I imagine Schultz will be getting waived once Klefbom is back. Fayne got waived and is playing better.

you could be right. I don't think this is a beaten, sunken team though. That was under Eakins, and we're not that. We're currently very streaky and the memory of the winning streak is still fresh. There may be individual players that have zero confidence though, like Schultz. In general our team has been competitive though. We just don't have the edge to win, and just look at the the talent level on D compared to the teams we've played in the back half of December. We're losing on paper.

On paper, I don't see McDavid being the answer the way Klefbom is. However, McDavid is a special player. A guy like McDavid or Hall can propel a team and not just on paper but like you say it can give the team a boost of confidence.

 

[guymez]

I disagree. Once McDavid gets rolling again, he will turn us into a winning team. Not because he does it all himself, but he elevates the players around him. This is a deflated, beaten down, sullen, sunken team. He changes all of that. He brings hope. As cheesy as that sounds. Everyone brings their A-game when McDavid is in the lineup.

If only this were true. Its exciting that he is close to returning but McDavid isnt enough.

Adding a skill player (yes...even as good as McDavid) doesnt change the fundamental flaws with this roster.

 

[Soundwave]

We'd have 5-6 points extra right now had the McDavid injury not happened. I think that's just the bottom line. The team was starting to play much better just before he got injured, and that was without Draisaitl, Nurse, or Eberle.

If we can actually ice our 16-17 best players *at the same freaking time* that would be nice, because we haven't been close to that this year.

When we had McDavid and Yakupov early in the season, Eberle, Draisaitl, Davidson, and Nurse were not on the roster.

Our best players are

McDavid, Hall, Draisaitl, Klefbom, RNH, Eberle, Nurse, Sekera, Pouliot, Yakupov, Davidson, Hendricks, Letestu, Korpikoski, Kassian, and I guess Schultz/Fayne is a wash.

But I'd like to see this actual roster play together.

 

[McOvechking]

If only this were true. Its exciting that he is close to returning but McDavid isnt enough.

Adding a skill player (yes...even as good as McDavid) doesnt change the fundamental flaws with this roster.

Maybe he's not enough for us to not lose games once in a while, but I think he elevates us out of this funk.

You're right, though. This roster has a lot of flaws, particularly on defense, but once McDavid is back I hope we see Chiarelli make some trades to start building the roster around him.

It's kind of been a wait for McJesus to return from injury show these last couple months.

 

[McDeepika]

Really excited to see what this team can do with McDavid and Draisatil in the lineup together.

We could easily go on a run with those 2 provided that Draisatil continues his strong play. Not many teams in the West can roll 2 centers like that.

 

[Staghorn]

How many games have Draisaitl and McDavid played in together? I'm excited to see the three headed monster of Drai, McJesus, and RNH.

I think that's a two headed monster plus RNH... RNH on the third line is a good thing. He has been less than spectacular carrying any play this year. With McDavid back at 2C Drai will get more openings, but with Drai's play the last 20 games teams have to focus on him now too. Major plus for both.

 

[PBandJ]

You're right. I think a lot of people have forgotten what he did in his first 13 games in the NHL. This team is absolutely a playoff team with McDavid in the lineup. He's that good.

Unless McDavid can play defence and goal, no it isn't.

 

[Psychoil]

I'm arguing with my friend because he thinks mcdavid is still 2 to 3 weeks away!