It goes without saying that Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid is regarded as the top player on the face of the Earth right now, and his Hall of Fame credentials are already set in stone despite his career being barely over a decade old.
McDavid has also played under numerous head coaches since being selected first overall by the Oilers in the 2015 NHL Draft, one of whom was Dave Tippett.
Tippett was hired by the Oilers in 2019 and amassed a record of 95-62-14 in three seasons, while also posting a subpar 1-7 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs; he was let go in February of 2022 in favor of Jay Woodcroft.
Former Edmonton Oilers Head Coach Dave Tippett Reveals True Feelings Of Connor McDavid
Tippett, who coached McDavid for nearly three full seasons, spoke about his experience with the Oilers captain and the part of him that fans don’t get to see much of.
“He loosens up all the time with his teammates behind the scenes,” Tippett shared. “He’s very cognizant of everything that’s going around him, and he doesn’t want to bring attention to himself. That’s how he is.”
Tippett, who shared that he only had positive things to say about McDavid, said that the star forward would sometimes appear “embarrassed” by his tremendous personal success.
“The one knock I could say about him, there’s times when he would have an unbelievable game, like five points or whatever, and he was almost embarrassed by his success,” he said. “Like he wanted to shy away from it, and I always wondered the next game if he’s going to just kind of downplay it and not have a good game.
“That’s during the regular season,” he said. “During playoffs, he always wanted to play top-notch, but he’s just a good person. He’s an unbelievable player. But he’s got to be. He’s got to watch everything he does because he’s in a fishbowl. You ask any of the players there, he’s a great teammate, really good teammate, but just has to be very cognizant of what’s going on around him.”
As far as McDavid’s chances of winning the Stanley Cup at some point in his career, Tippett treated it as a sure-fire thing.
“He’ll win. I predict it,” said Tippett. “It’s incredible the things he does, and at his speed he does it. Just the way he takes care of himself. I can’t say enough good things about him.”
Connor McDavid Is Under Contract For Two More Years
McDavid agreed to sign a short-term, two-year contract extension last year, keeping him with the Oilers through the 2027-28 NHL campaign.
His current contract carries a cap hit of a relatively modest $12.5 million per season, a figure that could increase by another $7 million to $8 million annually when he signs his next deal.
The Oilers made another coaching change this offseason, dismissing Kris Knoblauch (who had replaced Jay Woodcroft) and hiring Mike Babcock as his successor.
Babcock will now be the sixth NHL head coach that McDavid has played under with the Oilers.
Former Oilers Coach Reveals True Feelings Of Connor McDavid