Connor McDavid, a five-time NHL scoring champion, will miss the next 2-3 weeks with an ankle injury sustained during the first shift of the Edmonton Oilers’ 6-1 road loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday.
McDavid won the opening face-off, but his only shift lasted just 37 seconds after he was tripped by Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski when trying to enter the offensive zone, crashing awkwardly into the right-wing boards. He got up but was noticeably uncomfortable as he skated gingerly to the Oilers bench, favoring his left leg. He didn’t return to the game and was sent back to Edmonton for further evaluation.
The Oilers announced McDavid’s absence on Wednesday; they continue a three-game road trip against the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
“He’s our leader and also the best player in the game. So, of course you’re going to feel it,” Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said after the loss. “We’ve got to do a better job of stepping up when a guy like that goes down.”
The 27-year-old center is the League’s most potent offensive player. He’s won the Art Ross Trophy as leading scorer five times, the Hart Trophy as league MVP three times and was voted winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in June — although he and the Oilers lost Game 7 of the Final to the Florida Panthers.
Considering that he’s averaged 21:41 of ice time in his nine-plus NHL seasons, McDavid has been remarkably healthy. He broke his collarbone and missed 37 games in 2015-16, his rookie season, but was sidelined for just 19 games since then. The Oilers are 6-8-5 when he’s out of the lineup.
Edmonton won just one of its six games last season when McDavid didn’t play. He missed five games with injuries and was scratched in their regular-season finale.
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Oilers center Connor McDavid to miss 2-3 weeks with ankle injury
McDavid is tied with Leon Draisaitl for the team scoring lead with 10 points in the Oilers’ first 10 games – good numbers for most players, but not for a player who has 992 points (338 goals, 654 assists) in 655 regular-season games. He is their leader as well as their No. 1 center, and his absence will be felt – the Oilers play six times in the next two weeks and 10 in the next three, beginning Thursday at Nashville, followed by a visit to the Calgary Flames on Sunday and a home game against the New Jersey Devils on Monday.
“It’s your captain, your best player. It should be an opportunity for guys to step up and say, ‘Oh, I’ve got this,'” coach Kris Knoblauch said after the game. “It’s more ice time, more opportunities.”
Edmonton recalled center Noah Philp and forward Drake Caggiula from Bakersfield of the American Hockey League on Tuesday. Caggiula has five points (two goals, three assists) in five AHL games and played 282 NHL games, but none since 2022-23 with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He played his first three NHL seasons with Edmonton from 2016-19. Philp has three points (two goals, one assist) in six AHL games; the 26-year-old has yet to make his NHL debut.
“It’s tough any time you are playing without your best player, but it’s something that’s hopefully short term,” Knoblauch said. “Obviously, our team is going to look different. Maybe that’s one, two games.”