Edmonton Oilers superstar center Connor McDavid is expected to miss two to three weeks because of a quad injury, general manager Ken Holland announced Tuesday.
"We're hoping less than that," Holland noted.
McDavid suffered a bruised left knee during Saturday's 3-2 victory against the Nashville Predators. At that point, head coach Dave Tippett deemed the injury "nothing serious."
However, Edmonton will now be without its star for the time being.
McDavid has lived up to the hype since the Oilers selected him with the first overall pick in the 2015 draft. He scored 48 points in 45 games during his injury-shortened rookie season and led all NHL players with 324 points (112 goals and 212 assists) over the past three years, per Hockey Reference.
He's on another scoring pace with 30 goals and 51 assists in 55 appearances during the current campaign.
The 23-year-old Canadian missed nearly half his rookie campaign because of a fractured clavicle. He's been durable since that initial setback, missing just four games over the previous three seasons combined.
Leon Draisaitl, who's swapped between McDavid's wing and second-line center in recent years, may now be tasked with leading the top line with his fellow star is out. It will also lead to more playing time for depth centers Riley Sheahan and Gaetan Haas.
Ultimately, McDavid is one of the NHL's most valuable players, and the Oilers don't feature a ton of secondary scoring, which makes his potential absence an even greater concern. Any type of extended absence would have a major impact on the team's playoff hopes.
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