Oilers Continue to Be Cursed by the Hockey Gods

The Edmonton Oilers' worst fears became reality Wednesday. Phenom Connor McDavid, who has turned heads during his first month in the NHL, is out indefinitely after suffering a broken left collarbone he'll need surgery to repair. This is terrible news for McDavid and the Oilers, of course. It's also a shame for the NHL, as its brightest young star now sits on the sidelines, while fans can't experience his once-in-a-generation talent.

McDavid got injured on a dynamic looking drive, bursting through the neutral zone to beat Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Brandon Manning. He found an opening for a shot, let one rip, but fell while being pressured by the Flyers' defence. He crashed hard against the boards as the entire Oilers fan base took a collective gasp while collectively bashing their heads against the wall repeatedly.

"The human side is that there was an 18-year-old kid, so to speak, after the game that was very upset and had a significant injury to his shoulder," Oilers president and general manager Peter Chiarelli told reporters Wednesday.

"He was upset and he loves to play the game and he won't be playing it for a while. As a player, he's done a lot of things. As a rookie in this league, and just as a player in general. These are tough injuries. The silver lining is that he's young, he's a strong kid mentally and physically. He's still developing, so he'll come back probably even stronger."

The Oilers fan base shares in the disappointment McDavid is feeling today. Not to sound overly dire or dramatic, but it's a day of mourning. The expectations were through the roof for the No. 1 overall pick—the next Sidney Crosby many touted him as. And despite those lofty predictions, the 18-year-old stud was living up to the hype, if not surpassing it.

McDavid was leading NHL rookies in scoring with 12 points in 13 games, including 11 points in his last nine contests. He found immediate success playing on a line with Benoit Pouliot and former first overall pick Nail Yakupov, as the trio became a forceful line at even strength and one of the highest-scoring lines in the NHL. McDavid was doing special things as a teenager whose career was just underway. He was the best player on the ice some nights, despite being the youngest. Now, the Oilers' season must continue on without him.

It's just more shit luck for an Edmonton team which looked like its ready to take the next step forward. McDavid passed the ten-game threshold on his entry-level contract, which means if this injury happened a week ago, the Oilers could have potentially saved a year on his contract. That's pretty catastrophic given his progress.

Injuries to young players is something the team has unfortunately grown accustomed to. Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle have all missed significant time during their Oilers tenure due to injuries, an omen about how unlucky the team has been with its young talent.

It's not going to be easy for the Oilers to recover a prolonged McDavid absence. Taking out any star player from the roster equation immediately makes the group less talented. But, the Oilers still have plenty of scoring prowess which should keep the team afloat. Hall has been superb, scoring 16 points in 13 games. Nugent-Hopkins has scored ten points. Leon Draisaitl, who will likely be asked to pick up some slack with McDavid on the sidelines, has scored seven points in three games. McDavid leaving is soul-shattering, but the Oilers still have enough offensive talent to remain watchable, at the very least.

Edmonton's defence and goaltending will ultimately be what continues to hold the club back. The Oilers have given up -3.7 shots against per 60 minutes at even strength. With the barrage of shots, they've given up much more scoring chances than they've allowed, posting 43.9 percent on-ice, high-scoring chances. Goaltenders Cam Talbot and Anders Nilsson have both struggled at stopping pucks at even strength, as the Oilers sit third last with a team .901 even-strength save percentage.

While the Oilers were far from a playoff lock entering the season, the sensational play of Hall and McDavid provided reason to believe that they could challenge for a postseason spot—a place the perennial losers haven't been since losing the Stanley Cup in 2006. Besides the potential implications this has for the Oilers' playoff push, it hurts his development and the positive strides the team has been making. For fans, it's devastating. McDavid alone was worth the price of admission, a rare young star who single-handedly made it fun to watch the Oilers, regardless if you had a vested interest in them.

The league suffers here, too. McDavid's skill transcended the sport and made him an international star of sorts. His face and highlight-reel plays have been plastered across screens all season, and going dark is the opposite of what Gary Bettman wants or what the NHL needs. The league now has one less talent to market for the time being.

Aside from Edmonton's opponents, nobody wins here. Even the biggest Oilers haters have to admit this news blows.

Stats courtesy War On Ice and Hockey Analysis