The Edmonton Oilers faced a surprising end to their season in Anaheim last night, losing 5-2 to the Ducks in Game 6 of their playoff series. After making it to the Stanley Cup Finals two years in a row, the Oilers were unexpectedly eliminated, but their captain didn’t seem very shocked by it.
With their backs against the wall and needing a win to keep their hopes alive for a Game 7 back in Edmonton, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the rest of the team were determined. However, the young Ducks team wouldn’t let the series go back to Alberta and played strongly, ending the Oilers’ chances at the championship.
McDavid’s Frustrated Remarks About the Team
What stood out after the game was McDavid’s reaction. Instead of saying the usual nice things, the star captain showed his frustration and subtly criticized general manager Stan Bowman’s choices for the team.
“Throughout the year, we were just an average team. When you are an average team but have high hopes, you are going to feel let down,” McDavid mentioned after the loss.
His words matter even more because of what McDavid did to help the team compete. Last summer, he decided to take a two-year contract at a lower salary to give Bowman extra money to make the team better. McDavid passed up millions, hoping that would help the team win a championship.
The Tristan Jarry Disaster and What Comes After
Bowman’s biggest decision with the extra money he had was bringing in goalie Tristan Jarry from the Pittsburgh Penguins, and it cost a lot. Jarry was meant to fix Edmonton’s long-standing problems with goalkeepers, but he came to the team after having a rough last season that got him moved down to the AHL. This risk did not pay off at all — Jarry had a goals-against average of 3.86 and only managed an . 858 save percentage in 19 games with Edmonton. He lost his starting position even before the regular season finished and was not the main goalie during the playoffs.
To make things worse, Jarry has two more years left on a contract that pays him an average of $5.38 million each year, which is a huge hit to the salary cap.
This two-year period is very important because it lines up with how much time is left on McDavid’s own contract before he can become a free agent. People think McDavid will be asking tough questions to the team’s managers this summer since big changes are clearly necessary. With everything that has happened and many people feeling like his general manager lacks a clear plan, it wouldn’t be surprising if McDavid chose to ask for a trade before his contract is up.
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