Connor McDavid makes reporter regret asking brutal question after Oilers’ practice

Connor McDavid returned to Edmonton this week and was immediately met with a blunt, some would say brutal, question about his legacy.

In a pointed exchange, Sportsnet’s Mark Spector referenced Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby, noting that by age 29 both had Stanley Cups and Olympic gold medals. McDavid, meanwhile, is still chasing both, despite a level of play that consistently places him among the best in the world.

Asked how those accomplishments have somehow eluded him, McDavid didn’t deflect, and kicked things off with a very sarcastic: “That’s a nice question thank you.”

“It’s aaaall part of the process,” he said. “I mean, that’s what it’s got to be. You know? What other option do I have?”

It would’ve been easy to bristle at the comparison. Instead, McDavid owned the moment.

“It’s disappointing. There’s no way around it. We could be sitting here having a totally different conversation if things went a little bit differently,” he continued. “It’s hard to win at any level, especially when we’re talking about the best of the very, very best in the NHL and the Olympics. The margins are very, very small, and we obviously saw that on Sunday. We’ve felt the effects of that here in Edmonton from time to time.”

No excuses. No frustration. And McDavid was applauded by many fans and pundits for responding to the tough questions.

It’s wild to think that a player of McDavid’s talent is still waiting for that defining championship moment. But he’s still dominant. Still driven. And if history has shown anything, it’s that careers aren’t defined by how long it takes, they’re defined by how you respond along the way.

McDavid, clearly, is still responding the right way.