Connor McDavid calls out his own teammates ahead of 2022-23 season

The Edmonton Oilers reached the Western Conference Finals last season but ended up losing in four games to the Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche. While it was the team’s best playoff finish since making the Stanley Cup Final in 2005-06, it wasn’t enough for captain Connor McDavid.

The captain revealed to TSN’s Ryan Rishaug earlier this week that his team has a lot of work to do. Especially with injuries suffered by key players throughout the playoffs, most notably Leon Draisaitl’s high-ankle sprain and defenseman Darnell Nurse’s torn hip flexor.

McDavid did not use the injuries as an excuse, however, it made it clear that something needs to change in 2022-23 in order to get the Oilers on top. The captain called out his own teammates on the back end, telling Rishaug that defence will be the key to the Oilers’ success.

“I asked [Connor McDavid] about all of the offense weaponry he has all around him, and immediately he said, ‘we’re not going to have a problem scoring goals, it’s going to be about defence.’”

McDavid is adamant “that the answer from this group will come from defence.”

The Oilers did make a significant upgrade in between the pipes with the contract to Jack Campbell. The defence will need to step up and we see that McDavid has no issue making sure his teammates know how important it will be this upcoming season.

As they say, offense sells tickets, defence wins championships.