The Edmonton Oilers were bounced from the Stanley Cup Playoffs way earlier than they were certainly hoping after losing their first-round series to the Anaheim Ducks.
However, things may have just gotten worse for fans after what Connor McDavid had to say about the organization.
Now, before this year, the Oilers had been to two straight Cup Finals and lost both to the Florida Panthers.
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However, despite questions about his future with the team, McDavid signed a two-year, team-friendly $25 million deal that appears to be a “show-me” contract, giving the organization time to prove it can win a Cup.
Well, that deal kicks in next season, but the Oilers sure aren’t showing him much.
After the loss to Anaheim, McDavid said the Oilers were an “average team with high expectations,” and on Saturday, he said he stands by that assessment.
He also echoed comments made on Saturday by his longtime teammate Leon Draisaitl that the team is “not trending in the right direction.”
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“Yeah, I feel the same way,” McDavid said, per NHL.com. “It’s only a couple of days ago I made those comments, and I feel the same as I did a couple of days ago, and agree with Leon that the organization as a whole has taken a step back. It starts with me, it starts with Leon, we all can be better, we need to be better.”
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The Oilers have two years on that McDavid deal to get him to stay, but realistically, it’s more like one year.
If McDavid isn’t getting the sense that the Oilers still have a window to win the Stanley Cup, they have to start looking to move on.
Letting the best player on Earth walk in free agency is just not an option.
So, more than ever, which is saying a lot in the McDavid era, the pressure is on in Edmonton.