NHL Blasted for Oilers' Connor McDavid Suspension

Former players are coming to the defense of Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid after the NHL issued him a three-game suspension.

Jan 18, 2025; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (97) shoots around Vancouver Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers (57) in the first period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images / Bob Frid-Imagn Images

People have been up in arms since the NHL Department of Player Safety decided to suspend Edmonton Oiler superstar Connor McDavid for three games. McDavid will sit out for three games after he cross-checked Vancouver Canucks forward Conor Garland in the face in the dying seconds of a game in which the Oilers were trailing by one goal.

Plenty of those who have seen the play come to the defense of the Oilers’ captain, asking why Garland wasn’t called for anything on the play. Garland was draped all over McDavid, taking him completely out of the play when the team needed him most.

Former NHLer P.K. Subban took to Twitter to let his thoughts on the situation be known.

“How the f--- does Connor McDavid get suspended for three games?” Subban asks. “What the hell was the ref looking at? Am I the only person who saw this?”

SOUND UP FOLKS 🔊

YOU GOTTA PROTECT THE PLAYERS FROM THEMSELVES!

If the message being sent with the 3 game suspension is “Safety first” … then where was that judgement on safety when this went on for 15 seconds??? It wasn’t a judgement call situation folks!! Blow the whistle!!… pic.twitter.com/nCblqyOQyo

— P.K. Subban (@PKSubban1) January 21, 2025

Subban is referring to Garland holding McDavid to the ice, rendering completely useless to the Oilers as the second ticked off the clock. Garland was clearly interfering with McDavid and should have been penalized, but the officials on the ice deemed there was nothing wrong with the play.

“With 20 seconds left you’ve got to give Connor McDavid… the opportunity to play between the whistles,” Subban said. “That’s what people pay to see; they didn’t pay to watch him get pinned down.”

For what it’s worth, the game took place in Vancouver, and surely Canucks fans were fine with seeing the biggest threat to their lead be taken out of the play.

Regardless of the hog-tying or interference, the league determined that responding with an intentional cross-check to the face was an inappropriate response.

It was McDavid’s cross-check that opened the gates for a big scrum between the two teams, eventually leading to Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers cross-checking Evan Bouchard in the face. Myers was given a similar three-game suspension.

“You look at Tyler Myers, him getting three games for what he did to Bouchard,” Subban said. “That happened because the refs didn’t blow the whistle when McDavid got pinned down.”

Subban does note that McDavid can’t have the kind of response he did, but the on-ice officials need to clean up their calls and make sure they’re doing everything they can to protect the star players. If the refs just blew the play dead and called a two-minute penalty on Garland, it’s likely none of the cross-checks would have happened.

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