I think he feels pressure as the captain and supposedly greatest player in the game to do something to motivate his team, but has no real idea what to do. That's why he resorts to "weird screams". He just isn't a natural leader.
It's the same reason Gretzky can't coach. The fact is these guys are seeing the game in a totally different way than everyone else. They don't understand what a regular NHL player needs to do. And can't understand why others can't just be better. A great player will find a way to slow himself down and utilize his teammates. Connor has been just skating wide around every player he's ever seen since he was 10 years old. And then landed with the Oilers where they showed zero interest in developing him into a full force of a player, and instead let him sit in the whiny phase that Sid was in for his first 2 years. Sid had Mario, Recchi, Leclair, Palffy, Gonchar, Roberts all showing him what the other side of the game was. McDavid was thrown into the spoiled man-boy club of Hall, Eberle, RNH, et al, and is told over and over that he's the best ever. So why change?
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It's the same reason Gretzky can't coach. The fact is these guys are seeing the game in a totally different way than everyone else. They don't understand what a regular NHL player needs to do. And can't understand why others can't just be better. A great player will find a way to slow himself down and utilize his teammates. Connor has been just skating wide around every player he's ever seen since he was 10 years old. And then landed with the Oilers where they showed zero interest in developing him into a full force of a player, and instead let him sit in the whiny phase that Sid was in for his first 2 years. Sid had Mario, Recchi, Leclair, Palffy, Gonchar, Roberts all showing him what the other side of the game was. McDavid was thrown into the spoiled man-boy club of Hall, Eberle, RNH, et al, and is told over and over that he's the best ever. So why change?
I think Mavi is being highly overrated here. He plays the game with an elite pace and his speed and skating is elite. I wouldn’t say he plays 4D chess in terms of hockey IQ. I wouldn’t put him close to the same level as Gretzky, Lemieux or Crosby.
Last edited by Sofa GM; 02-10-2026 at 09:29 PM.
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I’m a proponent of the “if you truly understand it, you can explain it to anyone” philosophy.
It removes the need for the word “obviously” from your vocabulary, and it eliminates any form of grunting or sound bitey phrasing just said louder to make your point.
Mavi and pissy’s issues are that obvious physical talent never teaches others how to best use and take advantage of the natural skill.
And oilers? They have 4 lines where 1 line gets half the time and the rest get 10 minutes each.
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There are a couple bona fine stars who seem to be OK coaches: Brindamour, MSL, and in the past Robinson and Lemaire. But they are few and far between, and I imagine there will be even less of them going forward because elite players won’t need to have a job ever.
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There are a couple bona fine stars who seem to be OK coaches: Brindamour, MSL, and in the past Robinson and Lemaire. But they are few and far between, and I imagine there will be even less of them going forward because elite players won’t need to have a job ever.
I think athletes want to stay in their sport, post career. Less about accumulating more wealth and more about sticking with what they've always known.
I think Mavi is being highly overrated here. He plays the game with an elite pace and his speed and skating is elite. I wouldn’t say he plays 4D chess in terms of hockey IQ. I wouldn’t put him close to the same level as Gretzky, Lemieux or Crosby.
Agreed. When you consider burst and top end speed, McDavid is probably in a class of his own. The rest of his game is elite and it's the combination that makes him generational. Minus the skating and he's just an elite scoring center not to be mistaken for elite 2-way center. I actually think Draisaitl may be better than him at everything but skating.
McDavid can skate really fast and is a natural goal scorer and gifted passer. But he sucks defensively and he's a piss-poor leader/role model who constantly flops, dives, and cheats for McPPs. He's obviously super talented, but he's nowhere near the likes of Crosby or MacKinnon in terms of being an all-around player.
I think athletes want to stay in their sport, post career. Less about accumulating more wealth and more about sticking with what they've always known.
Except most don’t, other than doing alumni stuff. A few get into ownership, a few into management. Most go off and don’t take part. Especially the super rich ones.
I think Mavi is being highly overrated here. He plays the game with an elite pace and his speed and skating is elite. I wouldn’t say he plays 4D chess in terms of hockey IQ. I wouldn’t put him close to the same level as Gretzky, Lemieux or Crosby.
My point is that he is NOT that because his IQ has never been fostered or even challenged in his environment. But there is no doubt he's been playing the game at a faster pace than everyone else his entire life, and so never needed to learn anything else about the game, especially how to use teammates.
The guy has dragged a C+ level team to back-to-back finals. He SHOULD be at least a Crosby. But he's not and probably won't be at this point.
My point is that he is NOT that because his IQ has never been fostered or even challenged in his environment. But there is no doubt he's been playing the game at a faster pace than everyone else his entire life, and so never needed to learn anything else about the game, especially how to use teammates.
The guy has dragged a C+ level team to back-to-back finals. He SHOULD be at least a Crosby. But he's not and probably won't be at this point.
I think you can make a case that he and Draisaitl have dragged them to back to back finals as McDavid is 3rd in playoffs ppg and Draisaitl 4th all time. Not sure if they get to the finals at all without one or the other but to be fair Crosby had Malkin.
My point is that he is NOT that because his IQ has never been fostered or even challenged in his environment. But there is no doubt he's been playing the game at a faster pace than everyone else his entire life, and so never needed to learn anything else about the game, especially how to use teammates.
The guy has dragged a C+ level team to back-to-back finals. He SHOULD be at least a Crosby. But he's not and probably won't be at this point.
Going to be really interesting to see how his career develops into his 30s.
I feel like right now he's afforded more time and space simply because he has the ability to switch gears faster than anybody we've probably ever seen, so defenders tend to play off him a bit to account for that threat.
Sport science and training have taken massive strides, but father time is still undefeated, I'm really curious what happens if/when a mid 30s McDavid loses half a step. Will he find other ways to dominate ala Crosby? Or will he just be a slightly diminished but still likely very good player.
The rest of his game is elite and it's the combination that makes him generational.
The rest of his game IS NOT ELITE, FFS.
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What makes McDavid special is not just his speed/skating - it's his ability to make plays at that speed. No one has been able to do that like he can. There's been guys that can skate like him, but they can't make plays at speed. He is the best player, ever, at that. And it's the part that makes him uniquely dangerous.
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