Edmonton Oilers Face Backlash Over Latest Statement on Connor McDavid's suspension
The Edmonton Oilers released a statement regarding Connor McDavid's three-game suspension and it's received a ton of backlash from around the NHL.
In the waning seconds of the game between the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers, Connor McDavid ended up getting tangled up with Conor Garland and got so incensed that he was being disrupted he threw a cross-check to his face.
The League didn't take too kindly to their poster boy acting so aggressively and decided to hand him a three game suspension. While the call was controversial given that he could have gotten a variety of different punishments, the middle ground seemed to irk people the most.
The Oilers organization wasn't too pleased and released their official statement on the matter, however it's garnering a lot of criticism from the hockey world.
Oilers Official Statement Sparks Intense Backlash On Social Media
It's safe to say that if the Oilers wanted to earn favor with the NHL they didn't get many points with that statement. Sure the team can be disappointed, but it's very selfish for them to believe they are head and shoulders above the rest of the League.
It didn't go over well on social media either.
Analysts and insiders were not impressed with the statement to say the least, with one even going so far as to have a few historical events retconned while we're at it.
Though Edmonton does have their fans to fall back on, they can take solace in having at least one ally on their side as analyst Paul Bissonnette made his thoughts very clear.
Edmonton fails to realize that although they don't have McDavid to drive their offense, they have a team full of stars like Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, Connor Brown, and Jeff Skinner to carry the load.
McDavid has 20 goals and 45 assists in 43 games played this season, was injured a few weeks into the season
Three games won't be make or break; McDavid missed more games earlier this year and the team was just fine so it's a lot of crying for sympathy for no reason.
Why haven't Vancouver put out a statement regarding Tyler Myers losing three games? Why didn't Toronto earlier this year with Ryan Reaves?
If you make a stupid decision expect to be punished. Connor McDavid slipped up and let his aggression get the better of him. The NHL was doing their job, so Edmonton needs to move on and do theirs.
