Concerning injury update on Connor McDavid emerges at Oilers’ practice

Word has already surfaced in Edmonton that Oilers star forward Leon Draisaitl would likely make a return from injury sooner than his captain Connor McDavid.

On Monday, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed that McDavid and Draisaitl won’t be available for any of the team’s three games this week.

Draisaitl, who got tangled up back on March 18 against Utah and suffered an undisclosed injury, is getting close to a return as Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch provided an update on his superstars on Wednesday afternoon:

“Both not playing tonight. Leon will be back sooner than Connor. We are looking at a week or maybe shorter than that for Leon. Connor will be longer than that.”

The last sentence has gotten a lot of Oilers’ fans worried. McDavid sustained what the team described as a lower-body injury during the Oilers’ 4–3 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday when he collided with defenseman Josh Morrissey. He missed the team’s game against the Seattle Kraken on the 22nd, and is expected to miss the next three games.

Draisaitl has already missed the last two games, but sounds like the Oilers will get him back sooner than McDavid.
Edmonton hosts Dallas Stars tonight, before traveling down to take on the Kraken in Seattle on Thursday. They’ll then return home for a game against the rival Calgary Flames on Saturday, though for now, it sounds like neither Draisaitl or McDavid will be dressed.

At first, fans were hopeful that they could see them back in action on Tuesday, April 1 against the Vegas Golden Knights. However, with this latest update from the bench boss after today’s practice, it sounds like it will be longer for McDavid.

Let’s all remember the wise words of Don Cherry in Edmonton: