Not only has the action on the rink increased, but there has also been a little bit of controversy here and there in the current NHL season. And guess what? The Edmonton Oilers’ captain, Connor McDavid, found himself in a tricky situation during his game against the Vancouver Canucks with right winger Conor Garland. They nearly got into a fight, but the #97 immediately received a match suspension after giving his opponent a cross-check on his head.

However, later, the NHL officials decided to lengthen this penalty for McDavid to a three-game suspension. This particular decision sparked a ton of controversy in the community, with the fans being divided into two parts, as some supported the call, but others were completely against it. However, the news also reached a certain NHL legend, who gave their verdict on the Canadian ice hockey player’s suspension from the rink for three games.

An honest take on the situation of the Oilers’ captain

“Don’t you think he’s a little fed up after all these years of taking it and taking it and taking it?” Craig Ludwig proposed a certain question to DLLS Stars Podcast host Owen Newkirk on YouTube. Indeed, Ludwig has his own experience in the sport, and he has been watching Connor McDavid since he played his first game against the St. Louis Blues in the 2015-16 season. He has watched the ice hockey prodigy go from a promising player to the captain of the Oilers, and even for him, his suspension came with a bit of surprise.

McDavid is known for his aggressive nature on the rink but never had a negative reputation in the NHL. He has consistently been regarded as one of the most respected and talented individuals, and this particular suspension has brought significant attention to the state of the sport. “You can argue if it’s right or wrong, but I think that at some point he has to be able to stand up for himself. I think he is maybe in his own mind now; he’s, again, nobody’s going to think he’s going to be this vicious player moving forward, but he is capable of losing it. He’s always kept his cool before, and he’s pretty much kept his mouth shut about everything. He fights through things,” said Ludwig.

Before this suspension, McDavid received a two-game ban for similar misconduct on the rink back in 2019. However, his record has been clean since, until he faced the Canucks on January 18. Ludwig emphasized that despite the Oilers’ captain’s long history of fair play, many opponents have overlooked it. Indeed, just like in the match at Rogers Arena, Conor Garland kept holding McDavid for a long time while he was trying to score for his team in the last few seconds, which the Canucks’ right winger did agree to later in the post-game interview.

As a captain of the Oilers, McDavid already has a lot of responsibilities on his shoulders, and Ludwig acknowledged that. And sometimes he had to take action even though he was unaware of the results that could follow. The cross-check to the head could have been a spontaneous action by one of the NHL’s cleanest players, and before the three-game suspension, a certain Canadian TV broadcaster defended the Oilers’ captain against his actions on the ice rink.

Always rallying behind Connor McDavid

“Connor McDavid’s the best player in the world. If the refs aren’t going to stop this from happening, I’m fine with how 97 reacted. 100% fine with it,” Sid Seixeiro shared his thoughts on X after looking at the footage of the Oilers’ captain and the Canucks’ right winger. At this time, rumors were piling up that McDavid might receive more than the minor match suspension from the game due to cross-checking his opponent on the head, but the Canadian TV broadcaster was completely fine with the way things unfolded on the ice rink.

When Garland and the #97 were having their wrestling match during the final seconds of the Oilers vs. the Canucks match, no referee tried to interfere and take a drastic call. Indeed, Seixeiro was just frustrated with the way things were handled; if any official could’ve taken the right call and stopped the two, the match result could’ve been really different, and maybe McDavid wouldn’t have received the three-game suspension in the future.