The reigning Art Ross and Hart trophies winner, among others, Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers will miss some time with an injury. Last night against the Winnipeg Jets, McDavid was unable to play the final few minutes of regulation and all of overtime. It is classified as an upper-body injury and he will be out one to two weeks for now.
#Oilers say Connor McDavid expected to miss 1-2 weeks with an upper-body injury.
The Heritage Classic is on Sunday vs. #Flames.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) October 22, 2023
The Edmonton Oilers Superstar Connor McDavid Will Be Out for One to Two Weeks With an Injury
McDavid is off to a pretty average start to the season by his standards. In five games, he has two goals, and six assists, for eight points. Last year as mentioned, was littered with silverware for McDavid. He hit 50 goals for the first time, finishing with 64 to lead the league. Also, he set a career-high in assists with 89, which gave him 153 points total. He became only the sixth player ever to eclipse 150 points in a season. Needless to say, expectations for this season are sky-high, personally and for the team. The injury will make everyone take a deep breath and take stock of the bigger picture.
What Does This Mean for the Oilers?
This is disappointing for McDavid and the team. The Oilers are out to a 1-3-1 start, not acceptable for a team considered a cup contender. Perhaps the injury to McDavid, and the subsequent lineup shuffling, will create accountability through the forward lines. Hence, players should not need to depend on their star, McDavid, to score two points a night just to compete. Players need to be scoring up and down the lineup. Depth scoring hasn’t been there for the Oilers thus far, and you can see it from their team statistics. For example, forwards Evander Kane and Connor Brown have combined for one point. Moreover, with the Heritage Classic scheduled for October 29th, against the Calgary Flames, McDavid is questionable for that game. Hopefully, the team can pick it up with McDavid’s absence, and find their team game.
Main photo: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
