Online debate begs the question, should the Oilers do more to protect Connor McDavid?

Many talk about the greatness of former Edmonton Oilers and National Hockey League superstar, Wayne Gretzky. He was the greatest hockey player of his era and quite possibly of all-time.

Many people who were around to witness his playing days will talk about him and the chemistry he had with many elite players he played alongside. Players like Mark Messier and Jari Kurri were major reasons why the Oilers won multiple Stanley Cups.

Gretzky's protector

Another player they talk about is a man by the name of Dave Semenko. His name does not encourage the reverence that the aforementioned Hockey Hall of Fame talent does but he helped Gretzky be the talent he was by providing protection to his star teammate. He helped the Oilers capture two Stanley Cups in 1984 and 1985.

He was an intimidating winger at 6'3 215lbs, willing to drop the gloves and get physical with any player in the entire NHL. This is evidenced by his 1,175 penalty minutes in only 575 career games played between the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, and Toronto Maple Leafs.

As people will say, nobody messed with Gretzky because they knew they would have to answer to Semenko. His name and just the threat of retaliation carried enough weight to deter any shenanigans from opposing players. Many believe that this type of protection is needed today as players feel they have free reign to take shots at the NHL's biggest stars.

Does McDavid need a protector?

A post on X by former Sportsnet personality Sid Seixeiro sparked a lot of controversy saying "Connor McDavid, the best player in the world, took a 0% raise to stay in Edmonton. You would think that would warrant a teammate reacting, in any real way, when he gets treated like this."

He posts a compilation of clips from Wednesday night's 2-1 Oilers overtime win vs the Philadelphia Flyers captain and challenging him physically with cross-checks and the like. It is not a new idea that 'lesser' players should step up if their team's star faces physical backlash, largely stemming from the old school ideals that dominated the NHL in Gretzky's era.

The counterpoint to this is that hockey is a physical sport and players get hit. The rules of the game have changed and the way the game is played has fundamentally changed to the point where having dedicated enforcers puts most teams at a disadvantage. Of course, you do not need to be a 'goon' to be able to stick up for teammates but the general idea still applies.

McDavid is the Oilers and the NHL's best player, the team and sport is better when he is on the ice and not nursing an injury caused by a dirty hit. Especially as he ages, the risk of injury grows and with the Oilers window being so closely tied to him being at his peak, the team would be smart to make sure he can continue to dominate for as long as possible.