Connor McDavid would like nothing more than to forget how close he came to striking gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics. However, Matthew Tkachuk will never stop talking about his Olympic accomplishment. In the NHL, those two worlds cannot coexist, and as a result, McDavid has now been put on notice by Tkachuk’s latest message involving him and Sidney Crosby.
“The best player in the world is Connor McDavid. There’s probably never been anybody like him in history,” Tkachuk commented on Wingmen with Matthew and Brady Tkachuk.
“It was kind of like it could’ve been a changing of the guard in Canada, with Crosby being out and him coming down on the breakaway. If he scores that goal, he’s the Canadian hero (…) The best player in the world is coming down on a breakaway, and [Connor Hellebuyck] just shuts the door on him.”
Tkachuk put McDavid on notice
While Tkachuk did not take any direct shots at McDavid—whom he has now beaten in two Stanley Cup Finals and a gold medal game—his statement did resurrect ghosts McDavid would rather leave behind. As if McDavid were not already aware of what his missed breakaway and the silver medal imply, Tkachuk reminded him that it could have been the moment for him to begin emerging from Crosby’s shadow in Canada.
Crosby scored the golden goal in Vancouver in 2010, and Canada will never forget it. For any generational talent who follows, the bar will always be set by that iconic moment at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
McDavid lost gold medal game in 2026
McDavid let a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip through his fingers and is now being hounded by bold statements. In addition to Tkachuk’s comment, Macklin Celebrini issued a blunt reminder for Crosby, McDavid, and Canada after the Olympics.
If there is a way for McDavid to silence the noise surrounding his name, it has never been clearer: only the Stanley Cup will do. After falling short of the NHL’s ultimate prize in consecutive years, McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers must make up for lost ground.
Race for the Stanley Cup
The Florida Panthers are in trouble, as Tkachuk returned with a bold message for Brad Marchand and company. With the league’s apex predator seemingly out of the picture—though the Panthers can never be taken for granted—the Oilers may find themselves facing a smoother path.
Still, reaching the Stanley Cup Final would most likely require going through Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche, who have been nothing short of a wrecking crew, steamrolling opponents in their path. MacKinnon, like McDavid, is back from Italy with a chip on his shoulder, and that should spell bad news for the rest of the league.
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