McDavid’s Olympic Minutes Just Shut Down the Knoblauch Critics

These minutes are up slightly from his 2024-25 average (22:02), but consistent with his career norm (21:50 overall). Knoblauch has faced criticism for deploying McDavid and Leon Draisaitl (similar ~22-23 min) heavily, especially at 5-on-5, but the Oilers’ results (e.g., near-Cup run in 2025) justify it when the bottom six underperforms, which has long been a problem for the Oilers.

Team Canada doesn’t really have that excuse to fall back on.

2026 Winter Olympics (Under Cooper, Team Canada):

At the Olympics, with a team full of the top players Canada has to offer, McDavid’s minutes are up there. The IIHF doesn’t release specific minutes per game, but if we calculate his total minutes in five games and work out an average TOI per game, it sits around 19-20 minutes.

Exact per-game breakdowns aren’t readily available, but the pattern is obvious. Cooper is “taxing” McDavid alongside stars like Nathan MacKinnon and Macklin Celebrini. In other words, he’s doing what Knoblauch does, and what, frankly, every other coach in Edmonton did before and what most other coaches would do in the same situation.

McDavid Is Just That Good

It’s not as though his tournament performance doesn’t warrant what Cooper is doing. McDavid has 13 points (2G, 11A) in five games and is setting the NHL-era Olympic record for points in a single tournament. When you have a nuclear weapon, you use it.

What makes this argument so fascinating is that Team Canada has what many would consider to be several nuclear weapons. But in comparison to his teammates, McDavid is still well above stars like Mitch Marner or Mark Stone.

In past Olympics with NHLers (1998-2014), top forwards often saw reduced TOI due to depth. It was rare to see a forward get close to 18 minutes per game. The average total Olympic minutes for NHL forwards in 2014 was around 13-14 min/game. McDavid’s projected total, if the trend continues in the gold medal game, will blow that out of the water.

Why We Should Be Knoblauch Some Slack

Fans are quick to jump on Knoblauch, suggesting he’ll be worn out by the time the playoffs roll around. And, to be fair, Cooper isn’t worried about Edmonton’s playoff hopes. He’s coaching in a short window, where taxing the best players is not as much of a concern. After Sunday, he’ll send McDavid back to the Oilers, and how tired the dynamic star is becomes the Oilers’ problem.

Still, maybe Oiler fans shouldn’t be so hard on Knoblauch.

McDavid’s Usage Transcends Coaches and Contexts:

Even on a Team Canada loaded with Hall of Fame-caliber talent (Crosby, MacKinnon, Cale Makar), Cooper deploys McDavid for nearly 20 min/game—high for international play where depth typically reduces star minutes. This shows McDavid’s irreplaceable value isn’t Knoblauch-specific; it’s a “best player in the world” reality.

Blasting Knoblauch ignores that top coaches like Cooper (praised for balanced lineups in Tampa) do the same in pressure situations.

Results Justify Using McDavid:

Under Knoblauch, McDavid’s high TOI is directly tied to the team’s success. If he’s going, the Oilers are going. If he’s not, Edmonton struggles. Something similar can be said about these Olympics.

Depth has stepped up at crucial times, but McDavid has been the star of the tournament. In the Olympics, McDavid’s heavy minutes are fueling a gold medal push.

Knoblauch Doesn’t Have the Depth Cooper Does:

Knoblauch’s critics point to McDavid/Draisaitl playing 23+ min while the bottom-six gets faded, but it’s hard to blame Knoblauch when the depth isn’t doing enough to keep McDavid off the ice.

This mirrors Cooper’s approach when depth falters. Team Canada has been falling behind in games, forcing Cooper to ice his top guys a lot more often than he’d ideally like.