Connor McDavid snubs NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on live television
Edmonton Oilers franchise cornerstone Connor McDavid thumbed his nose, intentionally or otherwise, at NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman after Panthers' Stanley Cup win.
There was no celebration for the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night in South Florida, only heartbreak.
The Oilers defied the odds in this series, coming all the way back from a 3-0 deficit to force a final and deciding Game 7 on Monday, only to fall short of the goal, dropping a 2-1 decision - and the Stanely Cup - to Florida.
McDavid himself defied the odds as well, being just the 6th player in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy despite playing for the losing team. However, when his name was called by Gary Bettman, McDavid would not take the curtain call to claim his trophy. In the end, it was simply not the trophy he wanted.
Understandably, the Oilers didn't have much to feel good about in Game 7 and for McDavid, it wasn't easy to manufacture any sort of gratitude for winning the Conn Smythe Trophy while the other team was out there living out his dream.
Bettman didn't try too hard to search for McDavid or wait it out to pass off the award. Instead, he just moved onto the next item on his list, which was to hand the Stanley Cup to Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov.
I'm sure Bettman didn't take it the wrong way, though I'm sure he would have preferred to have his typical photo op with the winner of the award.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 25 | 1205 ANSWERS Connor McDavid snubs NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on live television Was Connor McDavid wrong to not go out and accept the Conn Smythe Trophy on Monday night? | ||
| Yes, just accept the award | 364 | 30.2 % |
| No, the man's soul was just crushed | 754 | 62.6 % |
| He shouldn't have won the Conn Smythe anyway | 87 | 7.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
