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Rick Zamperin: Connor McDavid is the last guy who should be heckled

Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (97) skates prior to an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres, Friday Nov. 24, 2017, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

It’s no secret the Edmonton Oilers are having an awful season.

I mean, downright awful.

The Oilers recaptured some magic from their glory years with a fantastically fun playoff run last season, which ignited thoughts of a Stanley Cup this spring.

But Edmonton started this year on a torrid tear of terribleness and meandered through what has become a season of ineptness.

Plain and simply, the Oilers have become a shell of what we all expected them to be in 2017-18 and will miss the playoffs for the 11th time in the last 12 years.

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But despite all of that, what happened over the weekend is shameful.

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Connor McDavid, Edmonton’s megastar, captain and franchise saviour, was leaving a restaurant with his family this past weekend when he was confronted by a group of teenagers.

One of the teenagers started shooting a video on his cellphone and the group heckled McDavid.

You can hear one of them yell, “You’ve gotta start winning games man. You’re going to be traded.”

I’m sure McDavid has heard a lot worse on the ice, and he took it in stride when reporters asked him to respond to the video.

McDavid said, “I’m not even going to talk about it, it’s nothing. It’s not a big deal.”

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McDavid has 30 goals and 79 points in 65 games this season and without him, Edmonton would be lost.

The hecklers should be tarred and feathered.

Don’t blame one of the best players in the game — he’s one man, and there’s no “I” in team.

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