The Edmonton Oilers will play the next three games without superstar captain Connor McDavid after the NHL suspended him for cross-checking Vancouver Canucks winger Conor Garland on Saturday.
The NHL Department of Player Safety announced the suspension Monday, along with a matching three-game suspension for Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers for cross-checking Oilers blueliner Evan Bouchard in the aftermath of the McDavid-Garland incident.
McDavid, who took part in practice Monday skating on a line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman before his hearing, will sit out against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, a rematch with the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday and a Saturday afternoon contest against the Buffalo Sabres.
The incident occurred in the dying seconds against the Canucks, when McDavid and Garland got tangled up in the high slot in a wrestling match for roughly 15 seconds, during which Garland pinned and held McDavid. Once McDavid got up, he cross-checked Garland in the head. Officials sent McDavid to the Oilers dressing room with less than three seconds on the clock, and Vancouver went on to win 3-2.
McDavid received a match penalty, meaning a suspension was all but inevitable.
Connor McDavid was issued a match penalty on this play for cross-checking Conor Garland. pic.twitter.com/sB2Gpb3xAA
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 19, 2025
“There was a lot of frustration. Connor (McDavid) plays through a lot,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said after Monday’s practice before the suspension was levied. “Ironically, he doesn’t draw very many penalties. Our team doesn’t draw that many penalties for that matter, which is kind of ironic because we usually have the puck and the other team’s defending more.
“He’s under the microscope every time he’s on the ice because he’s dangerous. (Opponents) don’t give him room, give him another shot, hold him a little bit, tug on his jersey, get in his way. All those little things that maybe could be called penalties, but maybe not. If you called every single one, you’re changing the game. It’s a fine line. But I definitely believe that he puts up (with) more than the average player.”
McDavid drew one of just two penalties issued against the Canucks that led to power plays for the Oilers. He was tied for 47th in the NHL, forcing an opposing player to the penalty box 14 times after Saturday’s action, per Natural Stat Trick. That’s over 43 games. McDavid was 232nd among all skaters, drawing 0.89 penalties per 60 minutes.
The Oilers were 27th in the league with 114 opportunities on the man advantage this season after their game in Vancouver.
Knoblauch was displeased that Garland was permitted to hold McDavid for as long as he did, especially with the Oilers all over the Canucks in search of the tying goal.
Is there anything the Oilers could have done differently to deal with Garland’s antics? Knoblauch, who called the incident “unfortunate,” said he doesn’t have the perfect solution.
“If a guy wants to be an agitator and cross-check and slash, in the past you could just grab him and do something about it,” Knoblauch said. “Now, if there’s that pest who wants to do that, if you want to fight that pest, he doesn’t have to do that. He doesn’t have to do anything. It makes it a difficult situation. That’s where you rely on the referees to call the game appropriately and play the game.”
The only previous suspension of McDavid’s 688-game career resulted from an illegal check to the head on New York Islanders defenseman Nick Leddy in February 2019.
Last Wednesday, McDavid avoided supplemental discipline for an unpenalized hit on Minnesota Wild winger Marcus Johansson late in the second period of Edmonton’s 5-3 win. McDavid’s arm hit Johansson’s face after the Oilers center appeared to move it ever so slightly at the last instant as he skated by.
McDavid maintained in a TNT postgame interview that the contact was unintentional and he wasn’t trying to hurt Johansson. But replays showed McDavid did slightly move his arm at the last moment. Johansson left that game and hasn’t played since.
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(Photo: Bob Frid / Imagn Images)
