Connor McDavid injury a tough blow as Oilers continue to struggle

It’s only October, but the Edmonton Oilers are about to face what could be their toughest test of the season.

Connor McDavid, the reigning Hart Trophy winner, will miss one to two weeks with an upper-body injury sustained in Saturday’s 3-2 OT loss to the Winnipeg Jets. He had a pair of assists earlier in the game, but remained on the bench in the final few minutes of regulation and all of overtime on Saturday.

Last season, McDavid scored 64 goals and 89 assists for 153 points, winning the Hart, the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy and the Art Ross Trophy, adding to an already Hall of Fame resume.

However, it’s been a tough start for the McDavid and the Oilers, who are 1-3-1 to start the 2023-24 season with a goal differential of minus-seven (13 goals for, 20 goals against). Expectations in Edmonton this season are Stanley Cup-or-bust, but so far, they look like a team that may struggle to make the post-season.

On Monday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discuss the McDavid news and what’s wrong with the Oilers.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Let’s start with “The McInjury,” as Connor McDavid is expected to miss one to two weeks for the Edmonton Oilers, they’re calling it an “upper-body injury.” This is really not good for the Oilers, one win in their first five games and now without their captain for two weeks.

Frank Seravalli: You take a city in which it already felt like the sky was falling in a year with Cup-or-bust expectations, and now you add in this injury to the best player on Planet Earth, who by the way hasn’t really missed time in the last few seasons.

I’m not a doctor, but something about Connor McDavid hasn’t really looked quite right all season long, he hasn’t been doing the McDavid-like things, and I wonder if this is connected to the injury.