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Edmonton Oilers

McDavid Says It’s “Cup or Bust” for This Oilers Group

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl spoke to media on Tuesday and noted it was Stanley Cup or bust for this team’s core group.

“It is Cup or bust for this group,” said Connor McDavid when speaking to the media on Tuesday. Leon Draisaitl added, “We are all here to win and when you don’t it is disappointing. As a group, we will talk about it, find the positives and be ready next year.” Zach Hyman said the mindset going in for the team next season is, “We’re winning the Stanley Cup of it’s a failure of a season.” It was these kinds of comments that seemed to take most of the air when players talked about how disappointed they were in the way the 2022-23 season ended, and there was an aura of confidence that this group can be better.

Every player talked about how important it is for this group to win together. Noting that he’s extremely proud of the culture the Oilers have built from the ground up, McDavid said that the core wants to see this through and win together. Draisaitl noted that every season they don’t get it done, it only makes them want it more. They’ll get the chance next season as McDavid noted everyone is coming back, nobody is aging, and all of their players are in their prime.


“It is progress – maybe doesn’t feel like it today. But it is. We’re a better team than we were last year, and we have everybody coming back. It’s just more experiences, really,” he said when talking about what comes next. The club needs to work on the little things. “The margin of error when you play a good team in the playoffs is very small. We made too many mistakes,” McDavid noted. Draisaitl said they believe in that room its a matter of not beating themselves. He contended the Oilers have a way of giving games away and they need to “lock it down”.

How Good Is This Core?

McDavid noted that the Oilers feel they can knock on the door of the playoffs as much as they want but that winning it all is what matters. With everyone coming back, Hyman noted that even the young guys are restricted, so the team should look a lot like what it did this season.

The focus is there, Ken Holland will do what he can to round out the roster with pieces that accent the core and the Oilers will try again.

Next: Kings Close to Signing Gavrikov, Domino Trades Could Follow

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