Early Trading: The very latest on Connor McDavid

TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnson provides an update on the Oilers’ captain Connor McDavid after his leg injury on Monday, and how the team may adjust with his absence.

GINO REDA: Connor McDavid is the best player in the game, so when he gets hurt, it becomes hockey’s biggest story. So, let’s bring you up to date now by bringing in TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston. 

Chris, what do we know? We know that Connor McDavid was sent back to Edmonton while the team continued on its road trip. What is the latest news on his situation?

CHRIS JOHNSTON: Well, from what I’m being told right now the expectation is that it will probably be another 24 hours or so before we get any kind of official update on the severity of Connor McDavid’s injury, any sort of firm timelines on when he might be in a position to return to the Oilers’ lineup. 

But what I can tell you is this: As of Tuesday morning, just the pure logistics here, he hadn’t even arrived back in Edmonton from the game in Columbus. Obviously, he’s going to go through further evaluation with doctors back in the home environment once he gets to Edmonton, and they will determine exactly the nature of what he’s dealing with. 

We all saw the play. He went with his left skate first into the boards on that 37-second shift before he had to leave the ice. They’ll be looking at his leg to see what the nature of the injury is and update us from there. 

At this point, I’m not expecting anything in the near future, but given who Connor McDavid is, given where we are in the season, I would expect an extreme amount of caution to be taken with his recovery. 

We know he won’t play Thursday, certainly, when Edmonton is in Nashville, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see the layoff be longer than that even if the injury itself isn’t that severe, just because they are going to want to err on the side of caution here.

REDA: Is this a situation where because it’s Connor McDavid, you’d want to do exactly that? Err on the side of caution and give him all of the time he needs and then some, despite the situation the Oilers are currently in right now?

JOHNSTON: Absolutely, and I think, too, the fact he’s being sent back to Edmonton for evaluation does tell us something. There was enough concern on the ground in Columbus after this injury. Being limited to one shift in that game, that they’d want to get him back to their own medical team and get a deeper look at him, so I do think that does raise some alarm bells there. 

But look, it’s a long season, too. The Oilers had to play some games last season without McDavid. He had a couple short injury absences. They’re not off to the kind of start they wanted here, but I think everyone has a pretty good idea that the big picture is what’s most important.

They’ll first respect McDavid’s health, but secondly, don’t want to put him in a position where he’s coming back too soon, potentially making this a longer-term situation than it needs to be.

REDA: It’s still very early, as you mentioned. We’re waiting to hear something out of Edmonton once we get an update, but do we have an understanding of what kind of testing he’s looking at right now? 

Are they looking at MRIs? Do they think the ankle is an issue, or knee? Do we have any indication on any of the specifics of it all, or is still totally up in the air until he sees the doctors?

JOHNSTON: I don’t have those specifics. I would imagine they do. But naturally, this is being kept rather close to the vest, at least at this early hour. But certainly, imaging I would expect to be a part of that. 

You can do that in any NHL building. You can get some initial tests on the spot, but there’s much more they can do when he’s back with team doctors under the care there in Edmonton. That’s what’s going to come next here on Tuesday.

REDA: Any sense of a timeline in what the Oilers do while McDavid is out?

JOHNSTON: In the short term they’re going to likely have to make a call-up from Bakersfield. They’ve only been carrying 12 healthy forwards on the roster, so I would think before that game in Nashville, you’re going to see them make a recall. 

In a situation where you’re replacing McDavid, there’s no way to do that internally, or even externally. We are talking about the best player in the game, and so it’s about leaning a little more heavily on the existing players. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will probably get a longer run at centre. He’s largely used on the wing by Edmonton these days. 

But there’s no way to replace him, it’s got to be a collective effort. The first order of business will be making a recall from the farm team, and then hoping that every one of his teammates can raise their game and help deal with his absence.

REDA: Obviously because of the magnitude of this story, we’ll be following all day. CJ, I’m sure you’re going to be all over this. 

Chris Johnston, Pierre LeBrun, and Darren Dreger will have all of the updates on this situation and more, coming up on the full Insider Trading later on SportsCentre.