When the team said President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Ken Holland would be speaking on Tuesday morning, there were two options: the Oilers GM was making himself available to talk Trade Deadline with the day less than two weeks away OR he had something to say about McDavid.
It turned out to be the latter and not the former. Even within the media, who were huddled around awaiting Holland's arrival, there was a sudden moment of pause and uncertainty when Oilers Director of Hockey Communications Andre Brin announced (and I'm paraphrasing): "Hi guys, Ken first has an update on Connor McDavid."
Here we go. What would he say? What was wrong and how long? In his first answer, Holland laid out what happened when Connor knocked skates with Nashville's Dante Fabbro and crashed into the boards, right up to the moment he stood in front of the cameras that were streaming the press conference.
Bad news. Quadriceps injury. Out two to three weeks. The good news was that the MRI also showed the torn PCL injury from last season, that led to a one-hour documentary as seen on Sportsnet, was undamaged.
What a way to start a game day? That's right, game day. From hearing about their captain to playing without him less than 12 hours later. A test for sure and likely one of about seven or 10 tests (games) to be played out while McDavid heals and his team continues their pursuit for playoff positioning.
Other than McDavid, who Holland described as disappointed, it was the fans who took this the hardest. Let's be honest, they love Connor. What he does, who he is, and where he's headed with this team since being selected first overall in 2015. It was a tough one to take.
