Player Discussion Connor McDavid Part VI: Hart, Ross and Lindsay Winner

[Todd from Leduc]

He's a great kid he just doesn't have the leadership abilities required to be a captain. Give a guy like Marooner or Looch the C and let Consy lead through his play.

 

[Aerchon]

McDavid like the rest of the team has not been good enough. Points don't give him a free pass, his overall play has significantly regressed from last year, hopefully most of it is sickness or something. When his 12.5 contracts kicks in he will be overpaid if he continues to play the way he has for far too often this year.

 

[redgrant]

McDavid like the rest of the team has not been good enough. Points don't give him a free pass, his overall play has significantly regressed from last year, hopefully most of it is sickness or something. When his 12.5 contracts kicks in he will be overpaid if he continues to play the way he has for far too often this year.

He has been plenty good and yes his points do give him a free pass. When you are likely to be top 5 in the league with just 5v5 points youre a very special player. We havent seen the best of Mcdavid yet but he is not the problem here. Having garbage depth players is the issue.

 

[Aerchon]

He has been plenty good and yes his points do give him a free pass. When you are likely to be top 5 in the league with just 5v5 points youre a very special player. We havent seen the best of Mcdavid yet but he is not the problem here. Having garbage depth players is the issue.

Garbage depth players is exactly what we can afford due to cap implications... From Mcdavids contract and others.

Besides a few obvious teams like Tampa I just don't see a whole bunch of teams with significantly better depth/teams on paper.

McDavid needs to play so well that he can overcome his cap implications. Turn scrubs into players like Crosby has his whole career.

 

[MikeGrier99]

Connor signed a gigantic contract and it's his job to live up to it. He can't simply be a good #1 centre with that kind of money, he has to be among the top 3 players in the league. He will also have to accept that he might never have an all around elite supporting cast simply because he takes up so much cap room. Connor is a great player but he still has a lot more to prove. I remember him going on about how much the cup meant to him and how much he hates to lose. I see that in a guy like Crosby but haven't seen it in Connor this year.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

After reading my comment about him being arrogant, i take it back. He's allowed to be arrogant because he is THAT GOOD. Hard not to be. But how is he in the dressing room? Besides being respected for his talent, is he respected as a person and a team player? The Oilers have the pieces...just no chemistry. Go ahead and say I'm wrong, as I hope I am cause I want to see the Oilers do well, but I just don't understand the struggle in Edmonton. Help me out.

Everything that we've ever heard is how humble and good of a person he is. Without knowing him or being in the room that's the best that we have to go by.

 

[Juxta Position]

After reading my comment about him being arrogant, i take it back. He's allowed to be arrogant because he is THAT GOOD. Hard not to be. But how is he in the dressing room? Besides being respected for his talent, is he respected as a person and a team player? The Oilers have the pieces...just no chemistry. Go ahead and say I'm wrong, as I hope I am cause I want to see the Oilers do well, but I just don't understand the struggle in Edmonton. Help me out.

56% pk at home
70.5 pk overall
inexplicable coaching decisions on PP
well below league average goaltending (although i still have faith in talbot bouncing back)
weak winger depth (not as much of an issue, i believe, as some here make it out to be)
NOT mcdavid.

by all accounts, mcdavid is an excellent dressing room guy and to say you think hes arrogant because of bland interviews, reminds me of all the apparent body language experts that came out of the woodwork on the day of the draft lottery. you have absolutely no idea if hes arrogant or not, and again from all account of people around him, he's an extremely humble guy. he is definitely not the reason the oilers are in the position they're in.

 

[nightfighter]

Are people seriously questioning his leadership right now? Did people forget how Connor, as a rookie in training camp, was the only one to bet on the PP unit and stick by his guys? That's the type of person he is and that speaks volumes more than some 30 second sound byte.

 

[GameChanger]

The miserable PP is also affecting McDavid's total stats.

IMO it's quite incredible that the team has forwards (McDavid, Drai, Pulju, Nuge etc.) that could and should form one of the best powerplays in the league, but McDavid is only the 150th at ppp/60. Think about that, 149 players ahead of maybe the best player in the league. The other Oilers are even further down.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

The miserable PP is also affecting McDavid's total stats.

IMO it's quite incredible that the team has forwards (McDavid, Drai, Pulju, Nuge etc.) that could and should form one of the best powerplays in the league, but McDavid is only the 150th at ppp/60. Think about that, 149 players ahead of maybe the best player in the league. The other Oilers are even further down.

That is a ****ing disgrace. Part of it is on him for not looking for his shot more but damn let's roll Letestu out there some more Todd!

 

[shoop]

Am I the only one who thinks it's bad television writing, kinda made up weird, that one of the Oil Kings best players right now is named Conner McDonald?

How weird would that be if the Oilers drafted him?

 

[MessierII]

Obviously he’s a great player and I love him but him and Leon have both had a bad habit creep in of flying out of the zone early looking for a stretch pass cheating for offense. It’s happened both 5 on 5 and on the pk.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Hopefully Connor at least makes it interesting for us by winning another Art Ross this season. Not liking his chances the way that our PP has been going.

Player Games-Points
Kucherov 41-58
MacKinnon 41-52
Giroux 41-51
Tavares 42-50
Stamkos 41-50
Bailey 42-50
Wheeler 42-49
Voracek 41-49
McDavid 42-47
Gaudreau 41-46

How many of us would've expected Connor to barely be top 10 in NHL scoring with half of the season gone? Yes he has battled illness but if he gets healthy shouldn't he be clear cut top 3 at least?

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Maybe if we got him some better wingers.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Maybe if we got him some better wingers.

That would help. Eberle in his last form here wouldn't have been such a player though.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

That would help. Eberle in his last form here wouldn't have been such a player though.

Fair enough, but neither Lucic nor JP are burying the easy goals he's setting them up for.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Fair enough, but neither Lucic nor JP are burying the easy goals he's setting them up for.

Neither have been scoring lately this is true, but neither is Connor or the rest of the team to be fair. We've got 2 goals in the last 4 games and Connor has been in on both of them.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Neither have been scoring lately this is true, but neither is Connor or the rest of the team to be fair. We've got 2 goals in the last 4 games and Connor has been in on both of them.

Almost as if he's not the problem

McDavid can only do so much with the wingers he's given and the worst thing is that they're the best the team has.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Almost as if he's not the problem

McDavid can only do so much with the wingers he's given and the worst thing is that they're the best the team has.

He isn't the problem but I can't help (rightly or wrongly) but expect more out of our young star. Such is the pressure of the generational label.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

He isn't the problem but I can't help (rightly or wrongly) but expect more out of our young star. Such is the pressure of the generational label.

He's not the omega. You can see him trying his best but his confidence is shot. He won't shoot and his wingers won't convert. It's a perfect storm to neutralize him.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

Am I the only one who thinks it's bad television writing, kinda made up weird, that one of the Oil Kings best players right now is named Conner McDonald?

How weird would that be if the Oilers drafted him?

When*

FTFY

 

[Tobias Kahun]

He isn't the problem but I can't help (rightly or wrongly) but expect more out of our young star. Such is the pressure of the generational label.

He's not the problem, but he still needs to play better IMO, can have it both ways.

 

[shoop]

When*

FTFY

By bolding a word that was in the original post?

 

[CrazyJoeDavola]

Crosby did more with less wingers than what Connor has been given. Superstars play consistently and drag their teams to wins, not rely on others. I know Connor has been sick, but he looks absolutely disinterested, lazy, and terrible outside a few stretches. True superstars play with that passion and I just don't see it in him this year. Hopefully it's a culmination of illness and we see a different version once his contract kicks in.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

1 point in 5 games...still 2 periods to make sure its not 6 games