McDavid gets grilled in interview, reacts to rumors saying he wants out of Edmonton

Captain Connor McDavid is seeing his ship sink, and it has been sinking for several weeks now in Edmonton... The Oilers star forward is attending the All-Star festivities this weekend, and reporters present on the site couldn't miss the opportunity to ask him whether McDavid wanted out of Edmonton, whether all of this losing has just been too much despite the latest front office change. 

While we are pretty sure McDavid wanted to focus on something else than the Oilers' woes for the All-Star break, the captain reacted to all the rumors. 

“That’s just not the case at all,” McDavid said, shaking his head, per TSN's Frank Seravelli. “I’m here to be part of the solution. That’s all I’m going to say on that.”

It wasn't good enough for the many reporters, curious about the situation in Edmonton. After he was grilled for almost eight minutes at the media table, a local San Jose reporter threw McDavid a welcomed lifebuoy and finally asked him about the All-Star Game itself.

My god, I was going to get off the seat it was so hot,” McDavid said, laughing.

There has been a lot of pressure on the shoulders of McDavid since the start of the season. It seems like everyone is trying to follow his lead and his lead only, and sometimes letting him do all of the work. The All-Star break might be a great time for the Oilers' captain to let loose. 

However, you know the kid: he is already motivated to come back and fight for a playoff berth. 

“I look forward to coming back from the break and trying our best to prove everyone wrong,” McDavid said. “We have an opportunity here. Things seem pretty down on us. There’s a sense [of] negativity with the media and with everyone around the team.

“We get to prove people wrong and we get to decide how we finish the second half.”

On track to miss the playoffs for the 12th time in 13 seasons, a drastic change is needed in Edmonton, and the firing of GM Peter Chiarelli could be a step in the right direction. Now the pressure is on the players' shoulders, but McDavid is already used to it and made sure his teammates were ready to go all-in earlier this week. 

“You gotta believe,” McDavid said. “You have to believe that we’re going to turn it around. If you don’t, you don’t have to be here. It’s nothing new. No teammates watched that interview and were surprised.”

“We’re three points out of a playoff spot. I think that gets lost,” McDavid added. “We’re going through a lot of different changes, but we’re three points out and have a chance to make the playoffs.”

This is good to hear - just as good as knowing that McDavid doesn't want out of Edmonton.