Ex-Oilers coach Dave Tippett adamant McDavid will win the Stanley Cup

Former Edmonton Oilers head coach Dave Tippett had nothing but praise for Connor McDavid in a recent interview.

Tippett, who coached the Oilers for parts of three seasons from 2019 to 2022, appeared on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast this week and reflected on both his playing and coaching career.

Near the end of the podcast, Tippett was asked about his time coaching the Oilers, and specifically, McDavid. The 64-year-old provided some insight on what the 29-year-old is like off camera.

“He’s a good person. He’s an unbelievable player,” Tippett began. “But he’s got to watch everything he does because he’s in a fishbowl so much. You ask any of the players there, he’s a great teammate, really good teammate. He just has to be cognizant of what’s going on around him.”

Tippett continued hyping up McDavid’s on-ice play, and made it clear that despite him not having won a Stanley Cup yet, his time is coming.

“He’ll win. He’ll win some day, I predict it.”

One very interesting tidbit from Tippett came when he discussed what he thought McDavid may have needed to change. Rather than changing the way he plays the game, Tippett said he thought at times that the Oilers captain was too humble.

“The one knock I could say about him, there’s time’s he’d have an unbelievable game, five points or whatever. He was almost embarrassed by his success,” Tippett explained. “He wanted to shy away from it. I always wondered the next game if he was kind of going to downplay it and not have a good game.”

The Oilers are certainly in a win-now mode, as McDavid is entering the first of his two-year contract extension. The pressure is certainly ramping up on the organization, though management has made some big changes in the offseason that may be enough to finally bring the Cup back to Edmonton.

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