Is Connor McDavid not a natural born leader?

[ViD]

Seeing how Oilers are in a huge slump again, I do not see McDavid leading the team back into the winning column. The team morale does not appear to be high and they need to be sparked by their captain.

Where’s the leader, the face of the NHL, the guy that should lead the others on his team ?

Surely, he’s an absolute force when it comes to individual efforts and he’s the best player in the NHL, but he’s not a natural born leader, not in the same group as Messier, Ovechkin, Toews, Crosby.

This might also be the reason the Oilers are so bad in play offs, it doesn’t seem like someone can rile up the team in the dressing room.

Look at Ovechkin and Crosby - supporting cast changes, coaches change, but Pens and Caps are still contenders nearly every year. There’s no coincidence there.

Is Connor McDavid capable of being a great leader or is he just a superstar player who needs a great supporting cast to succeed ?

 

[JackSlater]

If his team gets better players, suddenly he'll look like a better leader. Funny how that works.

 

[ViD]

If his team gets better players, suddenly he'll look like a better leader. Funny how that works.

I’ve heard it for years now, they keep changing players, but the result is the same. The entire Oilers structure is based on playing McDavid and Draisaitl 30 minutes a night which certainly results in getting many points for those two, but is there a fatigue, stress, impact on other players morale?

 

[Soundwave]

Wasn't Ovechkin "not a leader" and a "career loser" ... until he won? But does he win without Kuznetsov going super nova that year in the playoffs + having a very, very deep team around him + having an elite level coach at the top?

People said this about Michael Jordan too ... not a leader like Magic or Bird, just a scoring machine, until he started to win titles. That's why when the Bulls won the first title in 1991 he surprised everyone and broke down and cried, because of years of hearing all that crap thrown his way ("scores lots of points, but he's not a winner like Magic or Bird").

Well f*** no shit, Magic and Bird had virtual All-Star teams around them from almost day one, Jordan had a lot less to work with and had to struggle more.

 

[Soundwave]

I’ve heard it for years now, they keep changing players, but the result is the same. The entire Oilers structure is based on playing McDavid and Draisaitl 30 minutes a night which certainly results in getting many points for those two, but is there a fatigue, stress, impact on other players morale?

Who have they added?

They've added one actual good player ... Hyman. OK, well Mike Smith too, but Mike Smith is 90 years old and falling apart.

Who else? Foegele? Barrie? Athansiou? Neal? Just adding in "more players" doesn't mean you're actually added anyone that great.

 

[ViD]

Wasn't Ovechkin "not a leader" and a "career loser" ... until he won? But does he win without Kuznetsov going super nova that year in the playoffs + having a very, very deep team around him + having an elite level coach at the top?

People said this about Michael Jordan too ... not a leader like Magic or Bird, just a scoring machine, until he started to win titles. That's why when the Bulls won the first title in 1991 he surprised everyone and broke down and cried, because of years of hearing all that crap thrown his way ("scores lots of points, but he's not a winner like Magic or Bird").

Well f*** no shit, Magic and Bird had virtual All-Star teams around them from day, Jordan had a lot less to work with and had to struggle more.

Those are very valid points. Yes, when he wins, peoples minds will be changed, how long will it take and will it possibly require a change of scenery ? Right now the Oilers seem very far from winning the cup

 

[Church Hill]

I have the sense his teammates do not look to him for leadership whatsoever. He takes selfishly long shifts in overtime directly leading to losses, and chews out his own teammates unnecessarily. He's unbelievably skilled, probably the most skilled ever, but he's still a child. Not a leader. Not yet.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Wow is this a long walk to bag on McDavid.

"Just a superstar player who needs a great supporting cast to succeed?" Oh, you mean like every superstar player?

 

[WetcoastOrca]

I’m not a fan of these leadership threads. None of us has any idea what goes on in the dressing room or on the ice in terms of leadership.
The only way we can objectively measure leadership is by a player’s play on the ice. By that metric McDavid passes with flying colours.

 

[jackjohnson]

I’ve heard it for years now, they keep changing players, but the result is the same. The entire Oilers structure is based on playing McDavid and Draisaitl 30 minutes a night which certainly results in getting many points for those two, but is there a fatigue, stress, impact on other players morale?

Yep the Oilers 2 best players could be their eventual downfall. I see an organization that gives priority to the two beat players in the league by giving them 30 minutes of ice time but that destroys team chemistry and the whole concept of playing as a team. Giving them 20 to 22 minutes each is better for the team, since they could roll all their lines. Another problem I see is Oilers stacking their top 2 lines vs. having 4 balanced lines. Rolling 2 lines will not work in playoffs.

 

[ViD]

Wow is this a long walk to bag on McDavid.

"Just a superstar player who needs a great supporting cast to succeed?" Oh, you mean like every superstar player?

You are correct, but it also takes the leadership on and off the ice, leading by example, supporting teammates, maintaining great locker room atmosphere

 

[Synesthesia]

I can't help but wonder if McDavid's off-ice persona as a seemingly extremely boring, uninteresting and unsympathetic guy, translates into him showing poor leadership skills. This obviously isn't the NBA or the NFL with (overly) fiery personalities, but man does McDavid seem to have the personality of a brick.

 

[FerklundCGY]

Yea, it's almost impossible to tell who the true leaders on a team are. Everything is just baseless speculation.

The one thing I will say is that him & Drai taking 2-3 minute long shifts in OT despite being dead tired is a very bad look though, especially when it leads to GWG against like it has, although that might have more to do with instructions from their brain-dead coach.

 

[DearDiary]

Wasn't Ovechkin "not a leader" and a "career loser" ... until he won? But does he win without Kuznetsov going super nova that year in the playoffs + having a very, very deep team around him + having an elite level coach at the top?

People said this about Michael Jordan too ... not a leader like Magic or Bird, just a scoring machine, until he started to win titles. That's why when the Bulls won the first title in 1991 he surprised everyone and broke down and cried, because of years of hearing all that crap thrown his way ("scores lots of points, but he's not a winner like Magic or Bird").

Well f*** no shit, Magic and Bird had virtual All-Star teams around them from almost day one, Jordan had a lot less to work with and had to struggle more.

Ovechkin made bad teams a contender early in his career. Because there's this thing called making your teammates better with your play and leadership, instead of looking to stat pad every night and acting entitled/selfish when you're not on the score sheet.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

You are correct, but it also takes the leadership on and off the ice, leading by example, supporting teammates, maintaining great locker room atmosphere

How much time have you spent on the ice with McDavid? How about in the locker room?

People use this line of reason to rip on star players they don't like all the time. Before they won it all it was said about Crosby, OV, Yzerman, and on and on.

 

[bsu]

He has the personality of a door knob. Literally one of the most boring personalities for a superstar I've ever seen in any sport.

Good thing he is one of the best players ever.

 

[Mrfenn92]

He’s doing fine. Just has not been a well run organization for quite a while now.

 

[Rubi]

McDavid is more interested in how McDavid does than how the team does. In the end the Hart trophy will always be the most important trophy in his trophy case.
Does he hate to lose?? Sure he does, but losing while getting his pts is acceptable.

 

[Soundwave]

Ovechkin made bad teams a contender early in his career. Because there's this thing called making your teammates better with your play and leadership, instead of looking to stat pad every night and acting entitled/selfish when you're not on the score sheet.

The Oilers are what, 18-12-2 this year or something? Do you want to take a guess what that record would be if McDavid missed even 10 games?

When did "scoring points" become "stat padding" by the way? When do NHL goalies and defenses just allow opponents freebie goals against, I must have missed that. Scoring points is what wins hockey games.

Ovechkin has had a lot of talent on his teams pretty much for the majority of his career, like by the 3rd year of his career he had a pretty loaded team to work with and he has had that ever since.

 

[Chips]

I have the sense his teammates do not look to him for leadership whatsoever. He takes selfishly long shifts in overtime directly leading to losses, and chews out his own teammates unnecessarily. He's unbelievably skilled, probably the most skilled ever, but he's still a child. Not a leader. Not yet.

That’s the only thing, I won’t judge a player on a shallow team losing for supposedly having bad leadership, but his body language and if he’s chewing out teammates. If you’ve not got a deep team, if your teammates aren’t that great they can’t exactly help that too much can they if they’re at their potential, what does shitting on them accomplish? The leader is supposed to take their team through the challenging times, not wallow in it



also, yea, he needs to commit defensively. He’s not the main problem at all, not by a long shot but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be better.

there’s a difference between a player being talented defensively, and team defense. Team defense masks any particular players weakness and or mistake because there’s reliable support nearby. If his team has an average at best defense and average at best goalie, the forwards need to commit 100% to defense. If he is getting disproportionate minutes, he should be putting in disproportionate defensive effort relative to other forwards.


There’s a reason you every so often see a coach who inherits a shallow team make them play a conservative defensive system that minimizes mistakes and increases support because players are less likely to be caught out of position, and if they mess up a teammate or three is there to recover. that’s an extreme example but a team talented enough to be aggressive offensively needs to be equally aggressive defensively unless their goalie is great at high danger chances.

The leader needs to set an example. Ovechkin didn’t become a two way player but he put in the effort and block shots and raced to break up rushes in his zone; his team saw that and committed and won a cup.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I’ve heard it for years now, they keep changing players, but the result is the same. The entire Oilers structure is based on playing McDavid and Draisaitl 30 minutes a night which certainly results in getting many points for those two, but is there a fatigue, stress, impact on other players morale?

You keep hearing this for years because the Oilers have been atrocious at surrounding McDavid and Draisaitl with talented players.

 

[Soundwave]

McDavid is more interested in how McDavid does than how the team does. In the end the Hart trophy will always be the most important trophy in his trophy case.
Does he hate to lose?? Sure he does, but losing while getting his pts is acceptable.

Which one of the top players is the league is leading their team to a better record than what the Oilers with Mikko Koskinen as their starter?

*crickets*

 

[GlitchMarner]

McDavid is more interested in how McDavid does than how the team does. In the end the Hart trophy will always be the most important trophy in his trophy case.
Does he hate to lose?? Sure he does, but losing while getting his pts is acceptable.

lol... When did you interview him?

 

[Hisch13r]

Fans have no business talking about leadership. We have no f***ing clue what goes on.

 

[BraveCanadian]

This is the same sort of talk top players always have to endure until they win and are magically now "clutch".

The truth is we don't have a lot of insight into who is a good leader on NHL teams and who is not from our recliner chairs.

Yzerman (lol), Gretzky, Lemieux, Sakic and a lot of other big name players had the same questions raised about them until they won too.