2025 has been peppered with on-ice skirmishes for Connor McDavid so far. There was, of course, the big one—the cross-check on Vancouver Canucks winger Conor Garland, which saw McDavid suspended for 3 games. But ask a Minnesota Wild fan, and they will grumble about a different incident. During their game on January 17th against the Oilers, McDavid got away with elbowing forward Marcus Johansson, taking him out of the game with an injury. And then there’s the incident that occurred in the Oilers’ game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

But on this occasion, McDavid was not the instigator but rather was on the receiving end, to the chagrin of the fans. Which is more the norm, as McDavid leads the league for most penalties drawn. This time, defenseman Jake McCabe body checked McDavid late in the 3rd period. The referees ignored McDavid’s protests after McCabe sent him hurtling into the boards.

To add salt to the wound, officials ruled Leon Draisaitl’s late-period equalizer offside, and the Oilers ultimately lost 4-3 in front of the home crowd. The game was intense. The Oilers fought in the 3rd period to try and claw their way back from 2 goals down, but they just fell short of a win.

From the Leafs perspective, however, McCabe’s check was just one aspect of a defensive masterclass. McCabe ended the game with a career-high ice time of 30 minutes, most of it played against the top line with McDavid. Ultimately, the defeat largely overshadowed the incident, but Oilers fans were not going to let this one go unquestioned online.

The fans’ postmortem on the Connor McDavid-Jake McCabe incident

On the Edmonton Oilers subreddit, the debate was on. While many viewed McCabe’s check as a fair challenge to Connor McDavid, the majority of fans felt incensed. “It’s pushing a guy going full speed into the end boards by taking his feet out. Can’t believe we had f*cking losers even in this sub telling me this was ok,” said one commenter, voicing their displeasure even at fellow Oilers fans.

Others connected this incident to a more systemic critique of the NHL and its referees. They believed that match fixing was not out of the question. “The nhl is a joke league at this point. I’m surprised people are allowed to gamble on games when it’s obvious to everyone the games are rigged by the referees. It’s like betting on the wrestling.” Another commenter linked it to a league-wide refereeing problem: “Shouldve been a double minor roughing call. Absolutely sickening reffing for this game and the Canucks game.”

On the other hand, some fans tried to find humor in the face of a perceived injustice. “That looks like a two game suspension for mcdavid,” wrote one Oilers fan sarcastically, recalling McDavid’s prior suspension. However, the general consensus appeared to be that this was indeed one in a long line of non-calls against McDavid. “Awful non-call. I don’t understand why McDavid seems to be held to a higher standard in terms of drawing penalties.”

Most fans were quick in coming to the defense of their star player. Although the incident went ignored, the Oilers have the opportunity to shake it and the home loss off and return to winning ways against the St. Louis Blues on February 5th.