If it’s true that McDavid is still fighting an injury (and I could see that being the case), it’s a very, very stupid thing for management/coaching staff to be playing him. And now they’re probably too scared to admit they were wrong to play him so they’ll just keep doing it.
This goes beyond the oilers… I never understand this decision from teams to have guys play through injury during the regular season. The flames have also done it with guys like mangiapane last year or Monahan several times. I can’t recall any example where a player played through an injury through a long period of the regular season and it worked out well for them and the team. It seems like it consistently leads to a player under-performing and the team struggling because of it.
Hindsight is 20/20 of course but it’s possible if the flames shut down Monahan for a whole season when he first started getting injured, he might still be a flame today. I was very frustrated to hear that he could barely tie his own skates for most of a season where he played. Look at how much better he looks when fully recovered. I know some players (including Monahan) might hide the severity of their injury because they want to play but at some point, it’s pretty obvious to everyone watching that something is off.
The oilers could be risking something similar with McDavid. Playing injured means he’s slower and less elusive on the ice… which means he’s going to get hit more… which means he’s likely going to aggravate the injury further. On top of that… the league is full of players that have been burned by him over the years that would love to take this opportunity to play a hard, physical game against him.
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