Edmonton has officially lost the plot on the McDavid suspension
Are you okay, Edmonton?
Because you don’t seem okay.
Connor McDavid was suspended on Monday, and the response from Edmonton Oilers fans and media has been over the top, to say the least.
As a reminder, McDavid cross-checked Vancouver Canucks forward Conor Garland in the face. It was an obvious suspension, as was a similar cross-check that Tyler Myers delivered to the face of Evan Bouchard.
Luckily for both the Canucks and Oilers, neither Garland nor Bouchard appeared to suffer an injury.
McDavid and Myers received matching three-game suspensions. Was it a little severe? Maybe. Auston Matthews received a two-game suspension for cross-checking Rasmus Dahlin in the head three years ago. You could argue for that length instead.
There are people in the Alberta capital who think Myers deserved more games than McDavid, as if the Oilers captain should get a free pass because he was being held by the smallest player on the ice.
Some have pointed to Carson Soucy getting a one-game suspension for his cross-check on McDavid in the playoffs. Rightly or wrongly, the NHL has traditionally weighted playoff suspensions differently than the regular season. If this incident happened during the postseason, McDavid and Myers would have received less severe suspensions.
But the belly-aching out of Edmonton isn’t just about the length of suspension. The McDavid suspension has sparked multiple complaints.
There’s talk that the best player in the world isn’t getting the protection he deserves from the league. There’s talk that the Oilers should target Canucks stars like Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson in Thursday’s rematch.
There’s even the suggestion that McDavid should skip league events and turn his back on Team Canada at the upcoming 4 Nations tournament.
In short, they’re acting like McDavid was the one who got cross-checked in the face.
Some suggestions out there that McDavid could or should scale back his involvement in league activities/media as protest over this suspension, my understanding is that’s not his headspace at all. He’ll continue to conduct himself the same as he always has.
— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) January 21, 2025
The noise is so loud that the Oilers actually released an official statement today acknowledging their fans’ frustrations.
“The Oilers organization is disappointed and we share in our fans’ frustration over the three-game suspension of our captain Connor McDavid,” the team said. “We support him through this process and the organization and our fans look forward to having him back in the lineup vs. Seattle next week.”
That’s a new one.
The fact that Garland didn’t get called for an obvious holding penalty in the dying seconds of Saturday’s game is laughable. Vancouver and Edmonton can agree on that.
But that’s on the referees, not the Canucks.
Let’s not pretend that McDavid’s reaction was appropriate. It was a dirty play that the NHL is trying to eradicate from the game.
Unfortunately for Edmonton, no matter how loudly they complain, there isn’t a separate rule book for the best player in the world.
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