The Edmonton Oilers came back from the Olympic break with a 6-5 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday. They are still hanging onto the third spot in the Pacific Division, four points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings. Before the game, Oilers captain Connor McDavid spoke with reporters for the first time since a crushing loss in the Olympics. It led to this interaction with Sportsnet's Mark Spector.
Mark Spector, what are you thinking with this question?
I’ve called players out on here, I used to be incredibly negative and I’ll own that, but you’re actually AROUND the players, I’m not.
You’d think you’d want to give them some motivation, not just remind him of failures. pic.twitter.com/NVG48GCQzq
— Jesse Courville-Lynch (@JCourvilleLynch) February 25, 2026
“It's a hard question, but Stanley Cups found [Wayne] Gretzky and [Sidney] Crosby and those guys' gold medals. And you've put yourself in that position, and it's not finding you. Did you think it would be this hard?” Spector asked. “That's a nice question, thank you,” McDavid responded sarcastically.
McDavid continued, “It's disappointing, no way around it. We could be sitting here having a totally different conversation if things had gone a little bit differently. It's hard. 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.”
McDavid has led the Oilers to consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearances, losing to the Florida Panthers both times. Both Gretzky and Crosby lost their first Stanley Cup Final appearance, made it back the next year, and won the second time around. When McDavid and the Oilers had that chance, they could not beat the Panthers.
Crosby followed up his first Stanley Cup by scoring the Golden Goal in the 2010 Olympics. McDavid was on the ice Sunday when Jack Hughes won it for the Americans. McDavid has put up dazzling numbers in many of these games, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2024 and Olympic MVP in 2026. But he has walked away with only the 4 Nations Face-Off title out of many opportunities.
The Oilers are back in action against the Kings on Thursday.
