Connor McDavid will miss “months” with a broken left clavicle (collarbone), Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli said today.
McDavid, 18, will have surgery today after suffering the injury last night in Edmonton.
“Connor is such a special player at such a young age, it’s disappointing,” said Chiarelli. “We won last night. Today feels like a loss.”
Despite hearing some opinions to the contrary, Chiarelli didn’t think McDavid’s young age had anything to do with the injury.
“The injury was bad luck,” he said. “He lost an edge.”
In McDavid’s absence, the GM said the only option is for his healthy players to step up their games.
“Teams suffer catastrophic injuries and they figure it out,” Chiarelli said. “They’re going to miss Connor. He will be back. He’ll be like a trade acquisition when he comes back, which will be nice.”
The Oilers (5-8-0) host Pittsburgh Friday before leaving on a tough four-game road trip through Chicago, Anaheim, Arizona, and Los Angeles.
"He's a strong kid, mentally and physically. He's still developing and he's going to come back stronger." GM Chiarelli on @cmcdavid97
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 4, 2015
"Leon gives us a very good option... He can play both (centre and wing)." GM Chiarelli, also says @ebs_14 will be back very soon
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 4, 2015