McDavid on NHL going right into the playoffs: ‘A fair season’s a full season’
Connor McDavid grew up idolizing Sidney Crosby.
On at least one issue, he’s at odds with his childhood hero.
A day after Crosby and Alex Ovechkin said they would be in favour of the NHL going right into the playoffs whenever the league gets the all-clear from public health and government officials in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, McDavid came down on the other side of the ledger.
“A fair season’s a full season,” the captain of the Edmonton Oilers said on a video conference call Friday. “That’s what we’d obviously prefer.”
If the NHL were to go straight into its usual 16-team playoff format, the Oilers and Calgary Flames would be pitted against each other in a post-season Battle of Alberta for the first time since 1991.
While the potential matchup is mouthwatering, McDavid believes it would be a mistake to venture down that road without ramping things up beforehand.
“I don’t think we can just step into playoffs and Game 1 (have) Calgary come to Edmonton and have guys just run around killing each other (when we) haven’t played a game in two months,” added the 23-year-old, who sits second in the overall scoring race behind teammate Leon Draisaitl. “We want to keep guys healthy and we want to make sure that everyone’s up and ready to play some playoff hockey.”
The NHL, along with most sports leagues and tours, paused its season earlier this month amid the novel coronavirus outbreak that’s killed thousands worldwide, brought economies to their knees, and ushered in an era of social distancing and self-isolation.
Crosby and Ovechkin said in separate video conferences Thursday they wouldn’t have any qualms if the league went straight into the playoffs when it does eventually gets the green light.
“You try to get in as many games as you can,” said Crosby, who captains the Pittsburgh Penguins. “But I wouldn’t mind starting right at the playoffs.”
Mileage on the body probably plays a part in the differing views.
At the time of the NHL’s pause, McDavid’s Oilers sat second in the Pacific Division with 83 points through 71 games. The 34-year-old Ovechkin’s Capitals occupied first in the Metropolitan Division with 90 points from 69 games, while the 32-year-old Crosby’s Penguins were four points back in third.
“We don’t want to play extra games,” said Ovechkin, Washington’s captain, before adding later to the other three players on his call: “I’d rather start playoffs right away. Sorry guys.”