To say things are going poorly for the Edmonton Oilers right now would be an understatement.
Since sitting atop the Pacific Division on December 1 with a 16-5-0 record, the Oilers have lost 12 of its last 14 games — including six straight defeats — and have plummeted out of playoff contention entirely. A big reason why is due to the Oilers’ goaltending duo of Mikko Koskinen and Stuart Skinner playing disastrously this year, with save percentages of .900 and .907 respectively.
However, around Edmonton, a lot of the blame has fallen at the feet of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, two players who have each put up over 50 points this year and are doing everything in their power to drag the Oilers into the playoffs. On Tuesday, frustration boiled over during a press conference with Draisaitl, as the 26-year-old had a very tense interaction with reporter Jim Matheson after a question.
Watch Leon Draisaitl get into it with HHOF reporter Jim Matheson 😬#Oilers pic.twitter.com/KsoN8KKqWR
— Tim and Friends (@timandfriends) January 18, 2022
The original question Matheson asks — what the Oilers need to be better at — is a legitimate one, but things spiral once the reporter asks Draisaitl why he is “so pissy” at him.
Here’s the exchange between the two in full:
Matheson: What do you think is the number one reason for the losses now? Is there one thing in your own mind where you say ‘we’ve got to get better at that?’
Draisaitl: We have to get better at everything.
Matheson: Would you like to expand on that?
Draisaitl: Nope. You can do that. You know everything.
Matheson: Why are you so pissy, Leon? Why are you so pissy?
Draisaitl: I’m not, I’m just answering.
Matheson: Yeah you are, whenever I ask you a question.
Draisaitl: I gave you an answer.
Matheson: Not a very good one.
Hilariously, Matheson asks another question after that tense back-and-forth, but Draisaitl clearly is exasperated and his answer is curt at best before the press conference ends.
To me, this is a clear example of playing stupid games and winning stupid prizes. Of course being combative with the person you’re interviewing is going to lead to getting an acrimonious response in turn. Not only that, it’s tense all around in Edmonton with the way the team has been spiraling, so it’s no surprise frustrations are coming to a head here.
Honestly, Edmonton media should be pivoting their hard-hitting questions to general manager Ken Holland, who put the Oilers in this mess with his inability to craft a team around McDavid and Draisaitl, instead of the two players trying harder than most to will this team into playoff contention.
