Fans and analysts are going to read far too much into the comments made by Connor McDavid on Saturday night — comments in which he praised the coaching of Jon Cooper and seemed to throw shade at the coaching in Edmonton. Every other post on Sunday morning is quoting McDavid, who called the Lightning an organized, perfectly coached, and very, very impressive team. He then told the media to go ask Kris Knoblauch why the Oilers aren’t as tight.
It was one of those quotes where everyone in the room looked around at one another and wondered what he meant. McDavid is well aware that whatever he says has an impact. When he speaks, everyone hangs on his words. So, why go this far with his praise for the Lightning and leave so many open questions about where things sit in Edmonton?
Was McDavid trying to tell management that something in Edmonton needs to change? This is now the second star player — Leon Draisaitl, just before the Olympic break — to hint that the coaching isn’t good enough. Interestingly, it’s now the second time that said star player has made the comments on the heels of a pretty poor game personally.
When Draisaitl said it, he wasn’t great. Saturday night, McDavid tried to do it all himself, and it didn’t work. It was one of his poorer performances, with that top line a combined -9.
What Did McDavid Actually Say?
Here are the quotes from the McDavid availability after the game on Saturday. It came when he was asked about the Lightning and their own superstar, Nikita Kucherov.