Connor McDavid Out For ‘Months’ With Broken Clavicle
The Edmonton Oilers’ worst case scenario is now a reality. Rookie phenom Connor McDavid broke his left clavicle in Tuesday’s win over the Philadelphia Flyers. He is expected to have surgery today and the only timetable for his return is GM Peter Chiarelli’s assertion that it would be ‘months’.
McDavid was injured on a freak play in the second period of Tuesday’s game. He was on a full speed shorthanded rush into the Flyers’ zone when he ‘caught an edge’ and slammed into the end boards with Philly defensemen Michael Del Zotto and Brandon Manning along for the ride. Teammate Ryan Nugent-Hopkins summed it all up: “It didn’t look too good, I feel bad for him. He’s been playing so great, putting the work in. An unlucky play like that you just have to feel bad for him. A dangerous play like that, you don’t want to see anybody go in like that with a couple of guys riding him. It was definitely tough to see.”
The clavicle is a tough break to repair and will involve surgery, plates and screws to fix the damage. GM Chiarelli didn’t have many specifics when he addressed the media this morning: “It’s not week to week, we’re talking months.” He did offer one bit of good news–at this point it doesn’t look like a season ending injury: “Based on what I’ve heard I don’t think so. They know exactly what they have to do is what I’ve been told. So I don’t think so, but I guess there’s always a small chance.”
Some of the blame has been put on the ice surface at Rexall Place. The silver lining to this cloud is that it won’t be an issue next year when the Oilers move into Rogers Place–their state of the art arena built at a cost of nearly a half billion dollars. Ironically, former first round draft picks Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also had shoulder injuries that required surgery in their first season with the team. At this point, GM Chiarelli doesn’t have a good explanation for this phenomena but dismisses talk of a ‘curse’.