onnor McDavid has been single-handedly carrying the Edmonton Oilers this season. His dominance has solidified him as the best player on the planet, but with his ice time skyrocketing, should his minutes be dialed back?
Connor McDavid continues to get better in his fourth NHL season. While the media in Toronto have tried to spark a debate about who is the best player in the league, the answer is clear. It is the Edmonton Oilers 21-year-old phenom.
His ability to completely take over a game and make his teammates better has put him in rare company. McDavid broke a record held by Adam Oates by being in on the teams first 8 goals this season. McDavid, being the good captain he is has downplayed the achievement to the point where he appears embarrassed by it.
McDavid shouldn’t be the one embarrassed by it. His teammates should be. The main topic of conversation around the Oilers is whether McDavid has enough help around him.
Connor McDavid is worth every bit of $12.5M and a whole lot more, but his ice time this season speaks to the challenges of paying big in a cap world: 28:26, 24:20, 24:58, 22:12, 24:35, 23:55 and 23:34.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) October 24, 2018
While Leon Draisaitl has picked his game up of late, more is needed from the Oilers supporting cast. The minutes McDavid is logging to start this season isn’t sustainable.
Lasting Effects
Although, McDavid is still really young the number of minutes he is playing every night is not sustainable. To this point in the season, McDavid is almost playing a full 3 minutes more a game than last year. Anaheim Ducks center, Ryan Getzlaf led the league in even-strength minutes last season with over 17 minutes a game in just 56 games, and Mcdavid is over 19 minutes of even strength ice time per game.
It is hard to fault Todd McLellan for wanting McDavid on the ice as much as possible. The Oilers are a flat out better team when he is on the ice than when he isn’t. What is the cost though? The Oilers have big aspirations for this season, and McDavid being gassed when spring hockey begins wouldn’t be ideal.
The silver lining of late is the awakening of Leon Draisaitl. Draisailt has been playing much better on the Oilers recent hot streak, and that will need to continue. McDavid needs another player to shoulder some of the load, and relieve some of the pressure he has to dominate every night. Hopefully, this isn’t just a flash in the pan and Draisaitl can continue his strong play.
Think Long Term
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The saying goes, “The more games a team wins in October the less you have to win in March and April”, which is true, but the Oilers need to look at the big picture. An 82 game schedule is a grind. Playing every other night for 6 months takes its toll on a player, and while McDavid appears to be superhuman that is a lot to ask.
The sweet spot for elite NHL forwards is to play between 18-20 minutes a night at the most. Obviously, an abundant amount of power plays on a given night could affect that, but that is the range it should be in most nights.
Draisaitl is averaging just over 17 minutes a night this season, which is perfect for him. McDavid should be playing a minute, maybe two more than him a night. Not seven.
Playing in a Candian city adds pressure to the team’s performance. Each loss is made out to be that the sky is falling, but having a long-term plan is the right way to go for the Oilers. Dial back McDavid minutes to ensure he doesn’t hit a wall when the games really matter.
Final Thoughts
The Oilers recent success has changed the narrative from everyone should be traded and fired to how much McDavid is playing. McDavid is the best player on the planet, and yet the Oilers are running the risk of skating him into the ground.
What McDavis is doing right now is unprecedented. There is a reason for that. It is too hard for forwards to play 200 feet of the ice every night and log that many minutes. NHL Centers are required to do a lot of dirty work, exuding extreme amounts of energy.
As long as the Oilers have 97 they can contend. Without him in the lineup, they are an average to below average hockey team. Continuing to play him this much is playing with fire. It needs to change.
Stats courtesy of hockeyreference.com