Should the Oilers Trade Connor McDavid?

Ever since Connor McDavid made his debut in the 2015-16 season, he has been one of the best players in the league. Throughout his career he has had 305 goals and 555 points, giving him 850 points. Combine that with six all-star selections, five Art Ross Trophies, and three Hart Memorial Trophies, and he’s a star! It might be because he plays for the Edmonton Oilers, but McDavid has even been compared to Wayne Gretzky. Whenever you’re being compared to the great one, you’re doing something right.

However, despite all the success that McDavid has had the Oilers haven’t been able to turn it into a Cup appearance. The closest they came was getting swept in the 2021-22 Western Conference Finals. Sure hockey is a team game, and one player can’t make the difference. However, when you have the best player in the league, it would be safe to assume building a winner would be much easier. But the Oilers, for one reason or another, haven’t been able to put a team around McDavid to help him get to a Cup.

This trend looks like it will continue as the Oilers are off to a horrendous start. They are 3-9-1 and are currently in 7th place in the Pacific division. They are only two points up on the San Jose Sharks, who are a historically bad team. Now it’s still early in the season, but still time is running out fast. If the struggles continue, are the Oilers going to look to make a change? They’ve already fired head coach Jay Woodcroft, but could more changes be necessary? Would trading Connor McDavid be the best course of action?

Pros of Trading Connor McDavid

The biggest reason why the Oilers would consider trading McDavid is what they can get back. McDavid could net them a franchise-altering return. At the very least they could get multiple first-round picks, plus top prospects, or young NHL talent. They can get assets that can help the current team win, as well as assets that can help the team win in the future. Sure you’re losing a generational talent in McDavid, but so far that generational talent hasn’t led to much organizational success.

Also, it’s not like trading McDavid means the Oilers are rebuilding. The Oilers still have a top-ten, maybe even top-five player in the league in Leon Draisaitl. On any other team, Draisaitl would be the main player on the roster. He would be the star player that teams gameplan on how to stop. However, with McDavid on the team, his greatness is a bit overshadowed. With McDavid traded, Draisaitl then becomes the centerpiece of the franchise. You then take the NHL-ready talent you acquired in the McDavid trade and have them fit Draisaitl’s style of play. That would be enough to quickly turn the Oilers from a struggling team to one of the most exciting young teams in the league.

A McDavid trade works because it allows the Oilers to add lots of depth to their NHL roster. They’re no longer relying on a handful of players to win them games. They can have a group of five to seven players, and have a legitimate core. As stated before to win in hockey you need more than one good player, even if that player is one of the best the game has ever seen.

Cons of Trading Connor McDavid

Now even though it seems like the best move for the health of the franchise is to trade McDavid, there are two main reasons why a McDavid trade will hurt the Oilers. The first one is the way the fanbase is going to react to it. Go back and look at how the fanbase reacted when Gretzky was traded. The response from Oilers fans was something that could only be rivaled by the 2011 Stanley Cup Riots in Vancouver. There were protests, and they even burned a doll that was supposed to be Oilers owner Peter Pocklington. The fanbase was extremely upset and they let the team know.

A similar reaction would come if McDavid was traded. There might not be protests in the streets or burning effigies of the team owner. But, they would be angry. You would see ticket sales go down across the board. Everything from single-game tickets to season ticket sales would plummet. Not to mention that Oilers fans would burn down social media because they’re so upset. McDavid is everything to this franchise and trading him would feel like an ultimate betrayal.

There is also no guarantee that the players you get for McDavid are anywhere close to as good as McDavid is. Sure McDavid is going to get you a huge return, but the way for them to become good NHLers falls on the team to develop them. McDavid is so good that no player could live up to him. So even though McDavid would get a huge return, it doesn’t mean the players are going to be good. Even though the return is huge, it would never be enough to equal McDavid’s production.

The Verdict

This is one of the toughest questions that the Oilers will have to face. Do you move on from a generational talent and face of the franchise? Or do you hold on to him and hope things turn around? This is something Ken Holland and the company are going to have to think long and hard about. Especially as we get closer to the trade deadline and the Oilers continue to struggle. If I were the Oilers, I wouldn’t be shopping McDavid. However, I would be open to having conversations with other teams. That’s the best way to go about it.

Thanks for reading! Credit for my feature image goes to Derek Cain. You can find more NHL content at Belly Up Sports and follow me on Twitter.