After going to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final and then getting married, the Edmonton Oilers captain's approach was to "make sure I'm rested, first and foremost."
After going to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final and then getting married, the Edmonton Oilers captain's approach was to "make sure I'm rested, first and foremost."
To bulk, or not to bulk, that is the question.
Whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer the hooks and slashes of opposing defensemen or to take arms against a team of troubles. Well, at least we think that's what Prince Hamlet was asking in the so-called "nunnery scene" of William Shakespeare's oft-quoted play.
For Connor McDavid, who went all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final and then got married, there wasn’t really a question. By the time his summer officially began, it was already halfway over. And so, unlike a year ago, where the Edmonton Oilers captain was practically living in the gym and on the ice while meticulously weighing everything he ate, he enjoyed himself — and, dare we say, let himself go a little?
The result is the McDavid you see today is not quite as emaciated as he was a year ago. He looks beefier. Dare we say, more muscular, as though he's carrying a few extra pounds. He's more Christian Bale from Batman than his weight-shedding role in The Machinist.
"It makes it seem like I was lazy or something,” McDavid told The Hockey News and a few other reporters at the NHL/NHLPA Player Media Tour. “But it’s not that. It was solely going off the start of last year, where I came in and I was as skinny as I’d ever been, and I was worrying about all these different numbers in the gym and all that stuff. And it didn’t translate to the ice. It didn’t translate at all. I didn’t feel good. I ended up getting hurt early in the season.”
Well, let's not go overboard.
This is still McDavid we're talking about. Not feeling good still resulted in a 132-point season. He — along with Nikita Kucherov, who had 144 points — became only the fourth and fifth players, respectively, in NHL history to record 100 assists. And McDavid did all that while missing six games.
But because it's McDavid, whose "worst" season in the last six years was when he scored only 116 points in 78 games, there was a feeling that he left some points on the table. A year earlier, he had led the league with 153 points. In 2020-21, he had 105 points in 56 games.
So, as good as last season was, he knows that there was still another level to what he can achieve — both individually and as a team.
The latter is ultimately why he made the change in the off-season.
This off-season wasn't about getting extra points. Or adding more individual awards to his already crowded trophy case. This is about winning a championship. Or rather, being able to endure the slings and arrows on the road to winning one.
Last year was the first time that McDavid made it all the way to the Cup final. That added an extra nine playoff games than his previous high. Knowing how physical that grind — and how tired he was at the end of the playoffs — is why McDavid trained the way he did this year.
“My approach this year is to make sure I’m rested, first and foremost,” he said. “Physically, you’re not going to change much over 10 weeks or however long it’s going to be. I didn’t have a ton of time to work with to change much, and I decided rest was an important issue and make sure my body is moving well. Compared to last year at this time, I feel a lot better. That’s all that I was looking for.”
What did a “rested” off-season look like for McDavid? Well, the season didn't end until June 24. Then, there was his wedding to Lauren Kyle in July. By the time he returned from his honeymoon, half the summer was already done.
"Obviously, I had a busy summer with getting married and stuff like that," he said." It felt like I jumped two feet into that."
All told, McDavid skated for about five weeks. But what he may have lacked in quantity, he more than made up for in quality. McDavid spent his off-season practising with the best of the best in the NHL. On some days, he was taking shots with Auston Matthews. On others, he fed passes to Oilers teammates Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman. He also skated with St. Louis' Robert Thomas and Los Angeles' Quinton Byfield.
McDavid tried to take something away from each player.
“When hockey guys get together, especially guys at the high end, guys are always picking each other’s brains,” said McDavid. “I’m asking him questions, he’s asking me questions. He thinks about the game a lot. He loves the game, just as I do. When you get guys like that together there’s inevitably going to be conversations about stuff. I have a lot of respect for how he scores goals and how he continues to get better and better.”
The rest wasn't just for his body. There was also the mental break needed after an emotionally draining playoffs, where the Oilers came back from being down 0-3 to the Florida Panthers, only to lose in Game 7.
Getting close but falling short hurt. A lot. It still does, said McDavid. And it may never fully go away.
“For me, there hasn’t been a ton of sitting back and reflecting. It’s been go-go-go. For me, that’s almost been good, being busy. Again, I’m not sure it’s something that you ever get over.
"(Ex-Oilers GM) Kenny Holland met with us after the season and he talked about losing in ’09 in Game 7. How the disappointment sticks with him to this day. And that’s coming from a guy who’s won Cups before. So I’m not sure it’s something you ever get over. But time moves on.”
Indeed, time heals all wounds. So does engraving your name on the Stanley Cup.
Get the latest news and trending stories right to your inbox by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or by visiting our forum.