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Connor McDavid will not skate for the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night against the Vancouver Cancuks. Since getting injured against the Calgary Flames on Apr. 6, he's been out of the lineup while Edmonton continues its quest for the Pacific Division title by going 1-1-0 in two games.
In 74 games, he was on the verge of winning the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer for the fourth consecutive season, collecting 130 points and looking to become only the fourth player with a 100-assist season.
Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche) led the scoring race for much of the season until McDavid erupted for 63 points in the past 31 games, making it a three-way competition.
In 2022-23, McDavid became only the sixth player in NHL history to score 150+ points in a single season, bowing out of the Stanley Cup playoffs in the second round.
Unfortunately, the Oilers opted to run it back with an almost identical lineup. They stumbled in the first month of the season, leading to Jay Woodcroft's dismissal and the hiring of McDavid's junior coach, Kris Knoblauch.
After the coaching change, Edmonton had two lengthy win streaks, one of eight games and another of 16, almost breaking the NHL record held by the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins.
In 11 games under Woodcroft, he only had two goals and eight assists for 10 points. Since reuniting with his former bench boss, the Oilers' captain has put the team on his back with 120 points in 63 games.
Will Connor McDavid's injury hurt his chances of winning the Art Ross Trophy this season?
Although most Oilers fans refuse to admit defeat, McDavid will not win the Art Ross Trophy in 2023-24, especially after sitting out three straight games.
Even if he comes back for the final three games of the regular season, Monday against the San Jose Sharks, Wednesday against the Arizona Coyotes and Thursday against the Colorado Avalanche, he would need at least 11 points in those games to tie Kucherov, who has 141 ahead of his Saturday game against the Washington Capitals.
Edmonton fans should be excited that their team, which ranked last in the NHL in October, still has a chance to win the Pacific Division and has locked up home-ice advantage in the first round.
As remarkable as it would have been for him to win another scoring title, the focus for almost a decade has been to win a Stanley Cup title. However, the Oilers have only skated in the Western Conference Final on one occasion since 2015.
Considering how much adversity the Oilers have overcome in the regular season, sitting him for a couple of games, especially with the postseason slated to begin on Apr. 20, is an intelligent decision.
The Oilers take him out of the race for the Art Ross by sitting him, but that should have never been the focus anyway. At 27, he will only get so many chances at chasing a ring. Playing through a grueling 82-game schedule is hard enough, but the following 16 wins are the hardest in all sports.
McDavid will get another chance to win a scoring title and collect 100 assists. Still, if he doesn't win a championship this season, the questions surrounding his legacy will continue to linger. Right now, team success is more important than individual success.
