Oilers’ fans can dream again
McDavid lottery win revives hope after nearly a decade of suffering
Don’t feel guilty about Connor McDavid, Oilers fans; don’t apologize because the NHL draft lottery burped out another No. 1 pick and handed it to the boys who have led Edmonton to nine straight non-playoff failures.
Despite the stunning news, no one would blame you for doubting Oilers management will do better by their latest shiny toy than they have with the others. Four No. 1 overall picks in the past six seasons and still no playoffs in sight.
Can the Oilers find a way to mess up the hand they’ve been dealt?
Based on history, the short answer is ... but before addressing that, there’s this: Deserve has nothing to do with the Oilers or any other franchise winning the right to select the 18-year-old McDavid, a swift, skilled, dominant centre for the OHL’s Erie Otters.
The Buffalo Sabres? Tankapalooza personified. The Arizona Coyotes? The NHL’s long-standing problem child in the desert has already been financially bailed out outrageously by the league.
The Toronto Maple Leafs? A long-running theme park of sports management dysfunction, 48 years removed from their last visit to the Stanley Cup final. Next.
Look, this gift from the NHL was dumb, blind luck, period. Roll with it, Oilers fans. Through nearly a decade of suffering, you’ve earned the right to dream about a return to competitiveness, if not necessarily greatness.
There is no disputing McDavid’s greatness. Despite missing six weeks with a broken hand he suffered in a fight in November, the six-foot-one, 187-pound McDavid finished third in the OHL scoring race, amassing 120 points in 47 games, including 44 goals.
McDavid helped Canada win the World Junior Hockey Championship, producing 11 points in seven games to tie for the tournament scoring lead.
In nine OHL playoff games, McDavid leads all scorers with 23 points. He scored five of his 11 goals in Game 2 of Erie’s series win over the London Knights.
Because he is almost certainly coming to Edmonton, McDavid will have to deal with comparisons to Wayne Gretzky. But a more direct connection between McDavid and the Oilers is his friendship with the family of Curtis Joseph, the retired goaltender. McDavid and Joseph’s son, Tristan, became friendly when they were younger.
Speaking with Toronto Sun reporter Mike Zeisberger about McDavid’s talent, Joseph said: “This kid was great from the get go. People talk about his hands. But his feet are just as good. That’s the thing. He does everything at such a high speed — feet, hands.
“Teams have always tried to put a man on him to shadow him. But you can’t stop him ... Like the old saying goes, you can only try to contain him. He’s just so creative.”
That creativity will be on view for Oilers fans when Erie opens the best-of-seven OHL Western Conference final series Thursday night against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, who are led by Oilers top defence prospect, Darnell Nurse.
Oilers GM Craig MacTavish has been doing his best to respect protocol and not announce his intention to select McDavid, at least until the OHL playoffs are over. But that’s not an easy dance.
“I did reach out to Darnell (Saturday night) when I found out and asked him to take it easy on Erie’s best player, Connor,” MacTavish told TSN on Sunday at the Under-18 World Hockey Championship in Switzerland.
If, as seems all but certain, the Oilers do select McDavid, he will be inserted into the lineup next season. That will instantly add offensive sizzle, but the Oilers’ rebuild still lacks major pieces in goal and on defence, not to mention a supporting forward or two.
The players MacTavish refers to as the club’s core — Taylor Hall (age 23), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (22), Nail Yakupov (21), Jordan Eberle (24), Justin Schultz (24) and Oscar Klefbom (21) — are young, still developing.
No doubt, adding McDavid will accelerate the process of internal, incremental growth that MacTavish is committed to. But it probably remains a process measured in years.
Something else about the NHL lottery: it has further cemented, if that were even possible, the job security of MacTavish and club president Kevin Lowe.
So, fans nursing a legacy grudge over Lowe’s supposed lack of accountability for nearly a decade of failure or for MacTavish’s well-documented missteps might as well flush those feelings.
In Edmonton, hope is spelled M-c-D-a-v-i-d. It will be several years, one way or the other, before it is realized. Or not. jmackinnon@ edmontonjournal.com