Injury puts McDavid’s brilliant start on hold
The Edmonton Oilers earned an important win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, yet general manager Peter Chiarelli said Wednesday, “It feels like a loss.”
That’s because Chiarelli announced rookie sensation Connor McDavid would have surgery on his broken left collarbone and be out indefinitely.
“Not week to week,” Chiarelli said. “We’re talking months.
“(McDavid) didn’t have much to say. He was upset. He loves to play the game, and he won’t be playing it for a while.”
After McDavid, 18, lost an edge and crashed into the end boards against the Flyers, the NHL was abuzz with speculation about the injury. The attention paid to it speaks to how important McDavid has become to the Oilers and the NHL after 13 games in the league. Probably not since Wayne Gretzky’s arrival has there been a player creating this much attention with a Canadian team.
McDavid has played less than a month in the NHL, yet there is concern about how his teammates will react in his absence.
“I’m sure they are going to miss that he is a very bright-eyed kid who comes and makes everyone’s day,” Chiarelli said.
Scouting is an inexact profession, but scouts were right on about McDavid being a player who makes everyone stand up and take notice whenever he’s on the ice.
He is special because of the way he skates and sees the game. It’s almost as if he has the gift of clairvoyance. McDavid always seems like a breakaway waiting to happen.
Gretzky had that gift. He could see plays developing before everyone else. McDavid’s gift isn’t as developed as Gretzky’s was in his heyday, but you can see the power within him.
The concern over McDavid’s injury is a national story because fans around the NHL already view him as a top league draw. Not many fans lined up to see Edmonton last season, and everyone wanted to see the Oilers and McDavid this season.
Even if McDavid misses two months, don’t count him out of the rookie of the year race. Given the history of similar injuries in the NHL, it’s reasonable to hope McDavid could be back in eight to 10 weeks.
Patrick Kane missed 21 games last season after surgery for a broken collarbone, and Marian Gaborik missed 22 in 2013-14.
Could McDavid play 55 to 58 games and still win the Calder Trophy? It’s unlikely but not impossible for a player of his caliber.
He was averaging 1.2 points per game over his last 10 games before Tuesday. If McDavid is playing again by the start of January, he could finish with 50 to 60 points.
“My experience with significant injuries with younger players is that they come back stronger,” Chiarelli said.
The injury is highly aggravating to the Oilers because it feels as if they are starting to figure out what needs to be done to become a successful team under coach Todd McLellan.
The Oilers have scored 21 goals over their last six games. Taylor Hall has four consecutive multi- ple-point games and 12 points over his last six games.
Jordan Eberle is expected to be be back soon from injury, and young Leon Draisaitl has looked impressive since being called up from the minors. The big question is whether to move Draisaitl to center to replace McDavid or keep him on the wing where he has been soaring lately.
McDavid was fueling all of the positive energy that is flowing from this team. He is so important that coaches have to worry how the team will respond to his absence.
“You talk about how a team can rally around it, and that’s what we expect to happen here,” Chiarelli said.
The injury is unfortunate for the NHL because it will delay the McDavid coronation for a couple of months. It’s clear McDavid is going to be celebrated by the league with the same enthusiasm it had for Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin in their early years.
But a broken collarbone isn’t a calamity for McDavid. Chiarelli said doctors seemed to be confident that there would be no surprises when they repaired McDavid’s shoulder.
This is a blip, a disappointment for McDavid and an annoyance for fans of the game.