Player Discussion McDavid

[VeteranPresence]

He needs to sit out the 4 Nations. One, to demonstrate his displeasure with officiating recently, but more importantly just to f***ing rest. He needs it.

Hell, I wonder if we might not want him going for surgery to fix whatever is ailing him. We're in a playoff spot, we could use the LTIR space. Maybe it could work.

 

[MessierII]

He needs to sit out the 4 Nations. One, to demonstrate his displeasure with officiating recently, but more importantly just to f***ing rest. He needs it.

He just got suspended for 3 games. Rest shouldn’t be an issue right now.

 

[Duke74]

3 points in his last 4 games, 13 points in 12 games since January 1st. He has not been as good as he needs to be, overplaying situations, always trying to make the impossible pass etc. This is the time of the season where he famously steps it up and plays better as well. It is a little concerning.

It's usually after the all-star break, or around mid-February that he really gets going. Let's wait and see until then.

 

[BlackDogg]

I recall the first few games of last year (actually about 20) where it seemed like he was almost intentionally f***ing up plays, it was so bad. During that losing streak. These stints are concerning. If it was an injury you would think he'd just disclose it. Are they going to overpay him now?

 

[LevelingSolo]

3 points in his last 4 games, 13 points in 12 games since January 1st. He has not been as good as he needs to be, overplaying situations, always trying to make the impossible pass etc. This is the time of the season where he famously steps it up and plays better as well. It is a little concerning.

I swear he’s been injured for the better part of the year

 

[Kerberos]

This version of McDavid is a far cry from the one we've become accustomed to.

Whether it's a lingering core injury (that's seemingly been a lingering issue for him on and off for 2 years now) or something else, it's affecting every part of his game. The shot, the decision making, his ability to handle the puck... all of it is simply off.

 

[FiveFourteenSixOne]

This version of McDavid is a far cry from the one we've become accustomed to.

Whether it's a lingering core injury (that's seemingly been a lingering issue for him on and off for 2 years now) or something else, it's affecting every part of his game. The shot, the decision making, his ability to handle the puck... all of it is simply off.

Has me seriously worried that we're starting to see him regress about 2 to 3 years quicker than we would have anticipated.

 

[K1984]

Has me seriously worried that we're starting to see him regress about 2 to 3 years quicker than we would have anticipated.

The issues appear entirely mental to me. He's making poor decisions in a confounding way that is new.

I think a great example of this was from the opening few shifts of the Leaf game. He walks the puck around the net, he has it clean in front with traffic in front of the goalie with time to make a play and instead just.....passes blind to the side of the net without a single soul even in the same area code. Scramble net front play turns into a breakout the other way without a single shot on net.

There's a lot of defer shot -> blind pass to nowhere or defer shot (or even pass), hold it -> skate it into traffic and turn it over in his game right now that wasn't there before. It looks like he's just throwing shit against the wall to see what sticks, there isn't a clear direction or drive to his game. He just dominates possession, zips around and.....not a lot happens in the end.