September 10, 2023 by Mike Dirsa

After the Edmonton Oilers were eliminated from the 2023 playoffs earlier than expected, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl each insisted it was Stanley Cup or bust for this group next season. Watching that presser illustrated how badly McDavid and Draisaitl want to bring a championship back to Edmonton.

I was left wondering what steps the two leaders on the Oilers would take in the off-season to come back in the fall to make this year have a better result than the previous two, where the Oilers were knocked out by the Colorado Avalanche in 2022 and the Las Vegas Golden Knights last year. The Avalanche and Golden Knights each went on to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup.

It’s well-known that McDavid works on his skills and conditioning relentlessly, and Oilers fans expected him to work even harder over the summer after suffering another playoff disappointment. The bigger question was how would the rest of the team respond?

When the Oilers were swept in the 1983 Stanley Cup Final by the New York Islanders, Wayne Gretzky and Kevin Lowe dreaded walking past the Islanders’ dressing room after the game, as they expected to hear them celebrating their fourth straight championship. However, what they saw were players with ice packs on, exhausted and in quiet jubilation. The Oilers team back then was very talented but needed to learn what it takes to win it all. As an Oilers fan, I can’t help but hope that history will repeat itself with their current team.

Following their season-ending presser, I thought what could McDavid do to better prepare himself than he already does? Then I started thinking about another legendary athlete from my childhood, Michael Jordan. This was likely because earlier last year, Paul Bissonnette said on an episode of Spittin’ Chiclets that McDavid and Draisaitl are the greatest duo in sports since Jordan and Pippen.

In 1995, the Chicago Bulls lost a chance at their fourth NBA championship when they fell to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals in six games. Jordan didn’t take any time to get over losing. Instead, he choose to work even harder starting the very next day to to come back in the fall to win a championship. Jordan didn’t just win one more ring, either. I think you know what I’m thinking.

It’s well-documented that McDavid works just as hard, if not harder than anyone else, so how is that going to lead the Oilers to the Stanley Cup? This is the exciting part because this gets into the transformation of McDavid as a leader. There are different types of leaders. Some leaders lead by example, some who are vocal leaders, and some who are a combination of both.

The Oilers returned to the ice at Rogers Place for the Captain’s Skates on Tuesday, a full two weeks ahead of any other NHL team. This is music to the ears of every Oilers fan. When I heard about this, I instantly thought there were similarities between Kobe Bryant and McDavid.

In 2008, the United States Olympic team named Kobe Bryant team captain and gave him the task to lead a group of elite NBA players to a gold medal. The part of the story most hockey fans will not know is that Bryant led by example, by showing other NBA superstars that they could work even harder than they already were. That they needed to be even more dedicated to perfecting their craft than they already were. The greatest similarity I see from McDavid to Bryant, is that both athletes choose to lead by example, and had a hunger to win.

Sportsnet’s Mark Spector asked Draisaitl about his Cup or bust statement on Thursday, and Draisaitl ended up giving a humorous response (as he’s occasionally known to do). But during the media availability, there was a sense that Draisaitl is focused and ready to begin the quest of winning the Stanley Cup.

We are witnessing the growth of McDavid and Draisaitl into leaders much like Jordan and Pippen, or Gretzky and Mark Messier. This is an exciting development for Oilers fans, and should absolutely terrify fans of other teams across the league.

Professional sports dynasties are formed when teams develop strong leaders in pairs. Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, or Jerry Rice and Joe Montana in football. Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada in baseball. Jordan and Pippen in basketball. Gretzky and Messier in hockey. All of these players would challenge each other both on and off the field, court, or ice, to never stop improving. All of these players would lead in their own way but they all pushed themselves to be the best athletes possible, and challenged their teammates to follow their lead.

This year’s Oilers are on a mission and are taking the steps to ensure they are doing everything possible to achieve the ultimate goal. McDavid is the captain and his willingness to do what it takes to lead this team is on full display by starting the Captain’s skates this early. The rest of the team has responded by showing up ready to go as well. The Captain’s skates are full on scrimmages with high intensity, not just casual twirls that you would expect from what are typically informal skates with a handful of skaters.

Now it’s time to win that Stanley Cup, and I believe they will do it this season.