Odd Olympic Rumors Surround McDavid and Oilers During Slow Start

TSN insider Pierre LeBrun offered a quotable nugget on Tuesday, suggesting that Connor McDavid’s priority might not be on delivering his best for the Edmonton Oilers early in the season. Suggesting that McDavid, along with a handful of other players who have their sights set on the Milan Olympics, might be preoccupied with that team and his focus might not be with his current NHL club.

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While the panel of TSN OverDrive was asking both Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger who would have more impact at the Olympics for Team Canada this year — McDavid or Sidney Crosby — everyone got on the subject of how much better Crosby has been than McDavid so far this season. McDavid only has one goal, and the panel was making predictions. When Bryan Hayes was called out for harping on McDavid, LeBrun was asked to sell him on why people shouldn’t be hard on the Oilers captain.

LeBrun’s response was only that some players, including McDavid, might be gearing up for Milan, which explains why their NHL production has been down. The hint seemed to be that McDavid was saving his best for the Olympics.

Is McDavid Too Focused on Team Canada?

Perhaps LeBrun wasn’t trying to suggest McDavid wasn’t focused on the Oilers’ season or that he was making Edmonton his second priority. Still, the comments raised an interesting question: how many players are saving their best stuff for February?

If the suggestion here is that McDavid will find his game before the Olympics, and that’s big for the Oilers, that’s one thing. If the hint is that McDavid isn’t worried about what happens in the NHL until the Olympics are over, that’s another.

Given all that McDavid said about wanting to know the Oilers can win a Stanley Cup and then taking his time to sign an extension, it feels illogical to suggest he’s not singularly focused on turning the season around and getting better results for the Oilers than the 4-4-2 start the team is on. Still, it’s hard to explain why McDavid seems so off. He’s passing up opportunities to shoot and making plays he might not normally make.

Ryan Rishaug posted a video prior to the Oilers’ game against the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday, asking, “Connor McDavid has just a goal in 10 games to start the season – is he due for a breakout tonight?” If he does, perhaps that puts to rest LeBrun’s theory that McDavid might be holding back.

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