NHL Insider Makes Bold Connor McDavid Statement After Oilers Eliminate Golden Knights

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Evan Massey | Last updated May 17, 2025 8:00 AM ET

Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers punched their ticket to the Western Conference final with a 1-0 win in Game 5 over the Las Vegas Golden Knights.

After losing in the Stanley Cup Finals last season to the Florida Panthers in Game 7, the Oilers have unfinished business to attend to. It has been clear all season long that they're hungry to take one final step.

Once again throughout the course of the 2024-25 NHL season, McDavid put together a big year. He scored 26 goals and had a 100-point season in 67 games. He finished the year with a 13.3% shooting percentage.

Following the big win to close out the Golden Knights, one NHL insider spoke out with a strong statement about McDavid and Edmonton.

Frank Seravalli opened up with his thoughts about the Oilers. He believes that the team is in the best position that it has been, which is saying a lot after going to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals just one year ago.

"So I just think there’s been lots of different facets for this Edmonton team that I think you could make the argument that they’re in the best position that they’ve been in in the McDavid/Draisaitl era," Seravalli said.

Edmonton and McDavid are waiting to find out who they will play in the Western Conference final. The opponent will be either the Dallas Stars or Winnipeg Jets. Right now, the Stars lead the series 3-2.

Game 6 between Dallas and the Jets will be played on Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET.

McDavid and the Oilers could taste a championship last season. Coming up short seems to have motivated them even more to get back to the same point and come through with a different outcome.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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