Connor McDavid looks like he couldn't care less about the handshake line after being swept by the Avs
The handshake line is a time-honoured tradition in the NHL that brings rival teams together to shake hands and congratulate each other on a hard fought series. In most cases, even the most intense series' showcase a ton of respect in the handshake line, but for Connor McDavid on Monday night, it looked as though he couldn't care less to be in the line at all.
Look, I get it. it's very raw, especially when your team gets swept. For McDavid, he left it all out there on the ice. He put together one of the most impressive postseasons in recent history and he deserved a better fate. Unfortunately for McDavid, he is one of just a handful of pieces on the team who did enough to deserve to move on. And unfortunately in a team game, you need everyone firing on all cylinders to get to the promised land. This series just wasn't it for the Oilers. That said, McDavid, as a captain and a team leader, should still be setting his disappointment aside for a moment just to show respect to the opposing team and leading by example.
It will be interesting to see whether McDavid doubles down this summer on wanting to stay put and get the job done in Edmonton or if he's simply had enough with management failing to put together a group of players who is capable of swimming in the deep water. And before anyone points out the fact that the Oilers made the WCF, they had to get through Los Angeles and Calgary to get there. The Pacific Division is widely considered to be the weakest division in the NHL. Once they got out of the Pacific, they were completely exposed and swept by the Central Division and Western Conference's top team.
Ken Holland failed when he tried to make Cody Ceci and Duncan Keith the answers on defense and he failed when he doubled down on Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen. I can't imagine McDavid is going to tolerate Edmonton much longer if the appropriate moves are not made to bolster the team around him and right the ship.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 7 | 579 ANSWERS Connor McDavid looks like he couldn't care less about the handshake line after being swept by the Avs Should McDavid have put on a brave face for 60 seconds to get through the handshake line? | ||
| Definitely. The poor sport thing is a bad look | 304 | 52.5 % |
| No, he has every right to be upset | 127 | 21.9 % |
| The Oilers were robbed. It was a high stick | 31 | 5.4 % |
| Don't care | 117 | 20.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
