Connor McDavid was in Salt Lake City with the Edmonton Oilers last weekend when a young reporter put a question to him that nobody could have objected to.
What’s your favorite arena to play in, aside from Edmonton?
“Toronto,” McDavid said.
That is an entirely defensible answer. Scotiabank Arena is the loudest building in the country on most nights, and McDavid grew up in Richmond Hill, a suburb immediately north of the city, watching the Toronto Maple Leafs. It is also the single worst answer he could have given in terms of the noise it would generate.
Connor McDavid’s last three games:
| Date | Opponent | Goals | Assists | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 17 | at Utah | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Oct 20 | Minnesota | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Oct 22 | Carolina | 2 | 3 | 5 |
When does Connor McDavid’s contract expire?
The extension he signed last year ran two seasons rather than the eight everybody had assumed was coming, which is the reason any of this registers at all. It takes him to the summer of 2028 and no further, and the decision has been picked over ever since, with every word he says about anywhere other than Edmonton now examined for clues.
The guessing has been constant. Jeff O’Neill put the chances of him re-signing at zero per cent, Frank Seravalli has suggested it ends in a sign-and-trade, and Wayne Gretzky has said on The Pat McAfee Show that he doesn’t see McDavid leaving at all.
READ MORE: Leon Draisaitl’s brutally honest words on Connor McDavid
McDavid himself addressed the broader version of this last month, rejecting the idea that players are fleeing Canadian clubs and arguing they go where they see a chance to win.
He has given Edmonton little reason to worry about his commitment on the ice. Thirty-one points in ten games, a point in every single one, and the Oilers sitting at 8-1-1.
The arena comment came via Heavy, and it should be said that he was answering a child’s question about buildings rather than making any kind of statement. Nobody in Toronto is treating it that way.
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