Ex-Oiler That Fans Wanted Back, Going to the Kings Instead
Corey Perry snubs a potential Edmonton reunion, signing a team-friendly deal with the Los Angeles Kings to provide the veteran leadership and grit the Oilers desperately coveted.
Video Transcript
What are the chances that Connor McDavid goes from 138 points to, you know, under 100 or, you know, outside the top five?
You know, could we see a drastic change in the NHL's top offensive weapon?
It's not the worst idea in the world, right?
Like, we've talked about Alexander Barkov a lot on the show, and the fact that if he wanted to score 120 points, he could.
Totally.
But he's fine, you know, being in that sort of, like, 80 to 90 range and, and winning Selke trophies when he's healthy.
At this point, if you're Connor McDavid, I think it's worth considering a change in how you play.
Like, it shouldn't all be on you and Leon Draisaitl, but hey, you wanna win a cup?
Like and this is where we're at right now in Edmonton.
you know, if he did improve defensively, if he used that speed, you know, more to, to, to steal pucks, and I mean, he does some of that already.
But if he put more of a focus on that, like, what's Edmonton's biggest problem the past couple of years is that they usually look lost defensively.
And they're gonna look very different this season, not only because of Babcock and DJ Smith, but, like, where's Darnell Nurse playing when the season begins?
Is it in Edmonton or is it elsewhere?
You know, that's gonna be a big makeover if he gets traded.
so I, I don't hate the idea of McDavid evolving his game, a la Steve Yzerman, 'cause yeah, look at what happened to Steve Yzerman afterwards.
Connor McDavid, future Selke winner.
What do you think, Drew?
No, I think there's a lot of problems with this.
I think that I mean, yes, I agree, right?
Like, I think if you told Connor McDavid he could have 70 points next year and win the Stanley Cup, he's taking it all day.
Yeah.
Now, I think the problem with this is, like, there's a lot of things if you watch the Edmonton Oilers play that, like, Connor McDavid, I guess, has to do that guys like Nathan MacKinnon I mean, I don't have the Yzerman roster in front of me when he was in Detroit at the time, but, like, all those guys during that time, and even Barkov in Florida, they have a ton of help throughout their lineup and complementary players.
So- do I think that, like, yeah, if I was running the Edmonton Oilers, I would rather have Connor McDavid's ice time during the regular season a little bit down, right?
Like, rather have him- at 20 to 21, 22 minutes like Nathan MacKinnon plays most nights versus, I mean, those guys get up there and, I mean, Draisaitl especially during some of those injuries had, like, some 25 to 27.
So I mean, if you're a center iceman and you're playing 25 to 27 minutes a game, like, you only have so much energy.
You have to conserve the energy on certain points of the ice.
So I think that McDavid would love to play a little bit of a different game, save some of that energy to play more defensively, but I think based on their roster and lack of help, that's never been an option.
And obviously we're about a week away from free agency opening up, and there's obviously been a ton of trades, but I don't think he's gonna be able to do that with the current roster that they have and have any chance of success.
So I mean, say they have a great, let's call it July, and they add a lot of pieces around him, I think he'd be the happiest guy in the world to maybe not go from 135 to 85, but I think he'd like to be at 110, and have a little bit of more energy and juice for the playoffs.
