“We were an average team all year”: McDavid speaks on disappointing Oilers season

The Edmonton Oilers saw their season come to an end in Orange County on Thursday night with a 5-2 loss in Game 6 at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks.

After making the Stanley Cup Final in each of the past two postseasons, the Oilers are ousted in the first round by a team that had no postseason experience as a group coming into the series.

For captain Connor McDavid, the result was both disappointing and emblematic of the larger issues that plagued his team all season long.

“That was tough,” McDavid said. “We were an average team all year. You know, an average team with high expectations, you’re going to be disappointed… We just never found it.”

Edmonton failed to surpass 100 points in the regular season for the first time since the NHL went back to a full 82-game slate after the two pandemic-shortened seasons.

Many believed the Oilers had the ability to flip a switch in the postseason and snap back into the form that helped them win the West twice, but it was not to be.

“We weren’t very good on the penalty kill,” McDavid said. “Power play didn’t get off to a good start, found its way into the series. Obviously, we don’t get one tonight, but yeah. We struggled on the PK all year too, searching for consistency there too. The power play could have been better to start the series. Credit to them.”

Another big storyline throughout the series was the health of McDavid and many of his teammates and what sort of ailments they may have been playing through. McDavid was announced as a game-time decision ahead of Game 5, though he clarified after the game that he was “never close” to not playing.

“Yeah, too hurt too soon,” McDavid said Thursday night of his status. “The first round is always tough. It’s always chaotic, and it’s tough to play through things so early on, as many guys did in here. Credit to our staff for making guys available and making sure they’re as comfortable as possible. That being said, it’s not an excuse either. We expected to have a longer run than we did. It is what it is.”

Now, larger questions about McDavid and his future with the Oilers loom. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft signed a two-year extension earlier this year, which did little to put to bed any questions about his belief in the long-term direction of the team.

The clock is ticking for general manager Stan Bowman to put a Stanley Cup caliber team around McDavid, and there’s plenty of work to be done to make it happen.