Edmonton Oilers possess a cheat code
In an interview with Ryan Whitney, Bob Stauffer discusses the Edmonton Oilers. Bob Stauffer states that although Wayne Gretzky was in his prime with Edmonton a while ago. Conner McDavid is more advanced as a center and is Edmonton's cheat code. The way McDavid gets along with his fellow teammates is also great and when they all have chemistry on the ice they become unstoppable.
Bob Stauffer goes on to say that when McDavid has got it you let him go and work his magic. The Edmonton Oilers now have more support than they ever have and there's no telling how far they will go.
Fans had mixed thoughts on this topic and one fan stated that Gretzky played in an era where clutching, grabbing, hooking, and enforcers happened and were allowed on the ice. He also said that if Gretzky was playing today he would dominate the ice as he was unmatchable with vision and hockey IQ. In comparison to McDavid who is playing in an era where you're basically untouchable on the ice making for a different type of game on the ice.
Another fan thinks that Gretzky played in an era where everyone in the NHL was in great shape and fair competition, in comparison to today where everyone in the NHL spends money on trying to get in the best shape to be ready for the game and those are not the same. Another fan stated that the Edmonton Oilers have had multiple chances of taking the first pick during the NHL Draft and that they have yet to take the Stanley Cup and in his opinion if you get the first pick that is usually enough to carry you through the season.
Another fan also commented that he had never heard anything so terrible in his entire life because Gretzky would never have let his team loose to the Vancouver Canucks. Another set of fans went on to say that it was apparent that Edmonton forgot their code in their game versus Vancouver and that it obviously didn't work anymore.
I don't agree with either side here. I think Gretzky was an amazing player during his time in the NHL, but I don't think it's fair to compare him to anyone who is currently on the Edmonton Oilers' roster or any other team for that matter. Hockey has changed since the 1980's and so have the players. McDavid is great no doubt about that, however if the Edmonton Oilers were up to par so to speak, I think I agree that they wouldn't have lost to Vancouver cheat code or not.
We will have to wait until later tonight to see how this plays out for the Oilers when they play Vancouver once again at 7pm EST.
