First of all, Connor McDavid is walking.
The Edmonton Oilers captain injured his left leg Saturday night in a 3-1 win over Calgary, crashing into the post after being tripped by Flames defenceman Mark Giordano. He’ll have an MRI on Sunday after X-rays came up negative in Calgary.
“I was just worried to stand up, my leg was just going to give away,” McDavid said Sunday morning at Rogers Place, after coming into the Hall of Fame room with a limp. “To be honest, I thought my leg was in two pieces when I was sitting on the ice.
“Thankfully, the bone is OK.”
Despite the injury, McDavid has no plans to change his style.
“They pay me $100 million to play my game. Part of may game is beating guys wide and going to the net,” McDavid said. “I’ll have to give my money back if I stop doing that.”
It was another disappointing season for the Oilers, finishing 35-38-9 and 11 points behind Colorado for the final playoff spot in the NHL’s Western Conference.
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McDavid sounded off after a loss in Las Vegas on Monday, calling it “an insane season” that was highly frustrating.
“A lot has been made of what I said in Vegas. I’d be a complete loser if I wasn’t frustrated,” he explained on Sunday.
“We’ve got some stuff to figure out. That’s not rubbing anybody’s nose in anything. That’s just simply the facts.”
Listen below: An interview with Connor McDavid from this weekend.
McDavid, with 116 points, was one of several Oilers to have career seasons. Leon Draisaitl scored 50 goals, while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins added 28 and Alex Chiasson got to 22. Darnell Nurse recorded 41 points. However, a lack of depth hindered the Oilers all season long.
“To me, the NHL is all about double-digit scoring,” said Oilers head coach Ken Hitchcock. “You need depth. You need scoring depth on your hockey club. It’s on us to find those players. I know we’re capable of finding those guys.”
Watch below: Edmonton Oilers CEO Bob Nicholson and interim GM Keith Gretzky address the media in end-of-season media availability Monday
The Oilers had six players hit double-digits in goals. The Western Conference-leading Calgary Flames had 11.
“My message is, let’s get this right. Let’s fix this. [It] doesn’t matter what has to happen. Let’s just get this right,” McDavid said of a brief conversation he had with Oilers CEO Bob Nicholson.
“I want to be here. If I didn’t want to be here, I wouldn’t have signed an eight-year deal.
“I’m here to be part of the solution.”
Watch below: Some videos from Global News’ coverage of the Edmonton Oilers’ 2018-19 season.
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