Connor McDavid - Captain material???

[Nucker 67]

I'm wondering which team - TOR or EDM - who will make a trade with MTL to get Price?  These are desperate times.

[VegasCanuck]

9 hours ago, MikeBossy said:

Not sure if anyone saw some of the post game video but watched this one on McDavid - not sure if he was going to cry or not but man - not really speaking like a Captain is he? Love the part when he is asked about play in their own end and he says "We're back on this" - good thing they have Kane and his "leadership" to lean on when needed.

 

https://www.nhl.com/oilers/video/post-raw--mcdavid-030522/t-277437406/c-10813382

 

 

Part of being a captain and a leader on a team, is accepting that the Coach is the one who is ultimately in charge and deferring to his decisions and playing within that coaches systems to the best of your ability.

 

I'm not sure that McDavid can do that, or if he feels that he should be calling the shots. Dave Tippett is a pretty solid coach, as is Ken Hitchcock and Todd McLellan. I'm sure Jay Woodcroft is fairly competent.

 

At a certain point, you have to look at the players and hold them accountable and make sure that they understand, who is actually in charge of the team.

 

These guys have had an unprecedented number of first overalls over the last 8 or so years, and they still can't seem to create a team culture. A big part of that lands on the GM, for not holding them accountable and for not fixing certain, core issues within the lineup.

 

McDavid though, needs to look in the mirror and decide that he will do whatever the coach asks, even if that means playing less minutes and spreading the playing time around.

 

[Mackcanuck]

[kanucks25]

Blaming McDavid and Draisaitl's lack of defence for the Oilers' woes is like blaming Demko for our woes... if he was a better puck handler maybe he could help relieve the pressure more and help us breakout of the zone more effectively.

 

Which is obviously a stupid take.

 

No player is perfect, but if he's still making a positive overall impact vs. his cap hit (which both these guys are) then probably best to look elsewhere for problems. Look at their bottom-6, look at their defense as a whole, look at their goaltending. No team is winning with that regardless of what's on your 1st line.

 

It's a top-down failure, like it has been here since Aqua decided he knew more than Mike Gillis. The difference between a well-run organization and one that isn't is night and day, again we're exhibit A over the last 8-9 years or so. You know what rolls down hill. You keep hiring dinosaurs like Holland and Tippett, you deserve what you get.

Edited March 6, 2022 by kanucks25

[Goal:thecup]

Edmonton is not worthy of a franchise, let alone McDavid; and Drai.

[Curmudgeon]

Although he is an almost supernaturally talented hockey player, McDavid is just not a leader. He is sulky and sour and I honestly don't think he has the charisma needed to inspire people to follow him. His idea of leading is "give me the puck and I'll drive the offense", except it only works part of the time. As far as I can see, Darnell Nurse is probably the right guy for the captaincy in Edmonton. He stands up for his teammates, he's a good player and he is usually Edmonton's best player. You always know what you are going to get from Nurse.

[rekker]

McD is arguably the most exciting player in the NHL. The best? Nope. Even at a ripe age Crosby is my starting center in a winner take all game. McKinnon and Huberdeu are both better all round players. Bergeron, Toews and Kopitar were better "players" in their prime. 

[DownUndaCanuck]

Sadly McDavid is too good a scorer, he had to become a captain and leader. I think a big reason the Oilers are struggling and McDavid is too is because he's relatively one dimensional - all he does is score and make offensive plays. He's the best in the world at it, sure, but he doesn't hit, he rarely kills penalties and he doesn't defend well. 

 

The problem with the team is that no one else on the team defends well either. Whether it's because they look to their captain to lead, or they all just suck at it, who knows. They had Tippett, one of this league's best defensive minds, and they still leaked goals in. Sure, they have an average goalie but he does go on decent streaks as well. Building a defence around an old Keith, Ceci and Barrie certainly doesn't help and Nurse has some things he needs to straighten out.

 

The whole team is a mess and sadly McDavid isn't perfect all-around. I wonder if coming into a losing team and getting used to losing has only made things worse - the same problem Arizona and Buffalo constantly face. 

 

Draisaitl is a bit of a leader too and appears to play a stronger defensive game than McDavid, it's just a puzzle why they can't play better as a team. Perhaps they are simply too skilled as individuals and take too much attention away.

 

If Edmonton miss the playoffs yet again (which they're on track to), you have to think that they make a big trade. No one's trading McDavid, but maybe it's not the worst idea, and build around Draisaitl, or you certainly could go the other way around.

 

Realistically you'd trade one of the stars for a solid young 50-60 point center who can play a shutdown role, a top 2 defenceman and a prospect/1st.