Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid will be out for two to three weeks as he recovers from a quad injury.
Oilers general manager Ken Holland made the announcement on Tuesday morning, hours ahead of the team’s home game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
“He’s two to three weeks. That’s the normal timeline for this injury. We’re hoping it can be a little bit less. No surgery. It’s an injury significant enough that he’s going to miss games but it’s not long-term,” Holland said.
“It’s the left leg, totally unrelated to the injury he had this summer.”
McDavid was banged up Saturday night in the Oilers’ win over the Nashville Predators.
He slid into the boards early in the second period and stayed on the ice for a few seconds. After appearing bothered at first, McDavid finished the shift and played the rest of the game.
Holland said Tuesday that McDavid was not putting himself in jeopardy by finishing the game Saturday.
“He was playing injured, but he was not putting himself in any kind of serious jeopardy.”
McDavid was assessed by medical staff after the game on Saturday, Holland said. By Sunday, the GM said McDavid felt a bit better, but was still stiff and swollen.
No. 97 worked with the power play before practice started Monday, then left the ice.
After practice, McDavid likened the injury to a Charley horse in the lower part of his quad/top part of his knee.
Both McDavid and head coach Dave Tippett said Monday they would assess McDavid’s injury on Tuesday morning to decide whether he would play against the Blackhawks.
After practice on Monday, McDavid had an MRI which confirmed the quad injury, Holland said.
“The good thing about having the MRI is not only did we see the quad injury, but the doctors had an opportunity to look at the injuries from this summer and everything looks great.”
Tippett didn’t say how he’ll structure his lines with McDavid out of action.
“I think this team has grown a lot. There’s been some adversity here or there. I’m really interested to see how we come along here,” Tippett said. “We’ve stressed right from training camp we have to do things well as a team. This puts a test to that.”
“We have to come in with the right mindset and find on our game without him,” Leon Draisaitl said. “It’s going to be a tight-checking group in here that’s going to defend like crazy and try to win games that way.”
Holland said McDavid will go to Toronto for treatment, while the team heads to Florida Wednesday for a three-game road trip.
“He’s got people there that he trains with all summer, they got great facilities,” Holland said. “He’s got people there that he trusts and our doctors and our medical team worked hand-in-hand with them all summer in being updated and communicating.”
The Oilers and Blackhawks are on 630 CHED with the Face-off Show at 5:30 p.m. The game starts at 7 p.m.