Would Connor McDavid become a Ranger when he becomes a Free Agent?
The Maven brought it up on these pages more than a month ago and it received the expected strong reaction.
McDavid does that to people, opponents, teammates and just about anyone who's seen the National Hockey League's version of Superman perform.
Now I see that my old buddy, Larry Brooks has a Post piece about McDavid which is highly appropriate. A Ranger?
Rangers Blunder That Could Win The Cup For Edmonton
<b>1. </b>When Chris Drury canned Gerard Gallant, the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers" target="_blank">Rangers</a> had GG's successor all lined up in Hartford. His name was – and still is – Kris Knoblauch.
After all King McD is about to lead his Edmonton Oilers to what he hopes is the end of Canada's 31-year Stanley Cup drought. (Canada is like the oasis-seeking parched guy in the desert who wants cool, clear water.)
As I pointed out a month ago, McDavid as a Ranger would be a boon for the NHL just as it was when Hall of Fame Oilers Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier graced The World's Most Famous Arena in a previous century.
"The Oilers brass is already worried about McDavid one day leaving Edmonton," says The Old Scout. "Just the other day Jeff Jackson, the Oilers CEO, did an interview about how the team wants to get contract talks going.
"He also pointed out how important McDavid is to the city of Edmonton and he made it clear he was firing the opening gun in the Oilers campaign to nail down a deal from here to eternity."
One could point out that Gretzky, Messier, Kevin Lowe and other Oilers never shed a tear about leaving Edmonton once the prospect of playing in the glare of Broadway presented itself.
"You would think," adds The Old Scout, "that the time is nearly here in McDavid's life that he'd like to do a Messier and win a Cup in Manhattan."
All true, but here are the reasons why it won't happen:
1. PERSONALITY: McDavid is neither Messier nor Gretzky. He's comfortable in Edmonton, married, living very well and suitably adored by a very savvy hockey town. In his eyes, comfort counts.
2. DEDICATION-FRIENDSHIP: He's not a Broadway type who needs a larger stage to display his talents and he just adores playing on the same team as his buddy Leon Draisaitl. In this case, Leon counts.
3. STRONG LINKS: His former agent Jeff Jackson is running the show as CEO of hockey ops in Edmonton. Add to that the fact that his junior coach Kris
Knoblauch is coaching the Oilers. There's no reason for Connor to leave his business buddies, favorite coach and personal pals.
4. POTENTIAL DYNASTY: Should the Oilers win The Cup, this Edmonton club could go on and take another with the core that they have. McDavid would like that.
Bottom Line: In a short time Connor will give his official "Regards to Broadway" and sign a permanent deal with the Oilers!