Other Oilers news
Troy Stecher out long term with an infected ankle cyst
As per Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal, Troy Stecher underwent surgery due to a cyst on his ankle getting infected. My heart goes out to Stecher and his family. Injuries are tough enough, but when they occur off the ice it's even tougher to deal with.
The Oilers were apparently aware of the problem when they traded for Stecher at the deadline, however he was able to play through it in the regular season. It's only since the playoffs started that his cyst got infected.
It's been tough for Stecher, who was acquired for defensive depth but wasn't able to get into a single playoff game prior to the injury due to the D corps largely playing well, and now this. Which means that worst case scenario his NHL career may be over prematurely, or best case scenario he'll lose a large chunk of the offseason training due to rehabbing this injury post-surgery, making it tough for him to play anywhere next season, never mind re-upping with the Oilers.
Cringey, stupid fans step over the line harassing Connor McDavid
I will never in my life understand the need for fans to be this stupid around Oiler players. Poor McDavid was just going on a beer run to presumably host his teammates for a post-conference final series win celebration, when a bunch of idiots harassed him.
One guy even inexplicably and awkwardly hugged McDavid as he was getting into his car after he and his fiance Lauren Kyle had loading up their booze to take home. Mcdavid did what he always does in these kinds of situations, he just ignored the guys and went on his business, but this kind of awkwardness from total strangers would irritate anybody.
Stupid, stupid, stupid - and I join in the chorus of X users who condemned the behavior of these three morons. Say what you will about the fans in this city, but at least the response on X shows that the people of Edmonton are for the most part respectful of the players who suit up for them, unlike the media, fans, and bloggers in other Canadian cities like Toronto, Vancouver, or Montreal.
Seriously, to anyone who reads this - when you encounter the players in public, just leave them alone. They're allowed to have a private life apart from hockey.
I used to be a food courier for Skip the Dishes and I once delivered food to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Iiro Pakarinen (on separate occasions), but not once did I ask them for an autograph, or a picture, or a selfie, or anything else. I just did my job and left them alone. Everyone else should too.