Connor McDavid wants to win in Edmonton.

That much was made clear at his season-ending press conference Saturday morning, much like it has been for many years with the Oilers.

And while this year’s first-round loss to the Anaheim Ducks ended their season far earlier than any hoped, the Oilers captain reaffirmed his desire to hoist a Stanley Cup in Edmonton.

“I want to win, and I want to win here in Edmonton. That’s my focus.”

But more so than in years past, McDavid was critical of where the team is at, echoing comments of teammate Leon Draisaitl, recognizing the simple fact of the matter: the Oilers took a step back this year.

“I feel the same way. It’s only a couple days ago I made those comments (about the Oilers being average),” he said. “I feel the same way I did a couple days ago, and I agree with Leon that the organization as a whole has taken a step back, and that starts with me. It starts with Leon. We all can be better, and we all need to be better.”

The ownership was there, but so too was the realization that this team simply didn’t have it this season. A monotonous regular season bled into the playoffs, and while injuries came hot and heavy — McDavid and Jason Dickinson both having to play through ankle and foot fractures — the team couldn’t find a way to adjust.

And truth be told, had the Oilers found a way through the Ducks in the first round as pundits everywhere expected, another deep run in the playoffs just didn’t seem to be in the cards.

“It was more change of direction, stops and starts were tough,” said McDavid of his injury. “I’m fast, but my advantage is my speed burst, the quick step, and I had none of that.”

All of that was on full display. The Ducks hard-matched their top pairing of Jackson LaCombe and Jacob Trouba against McDavid, and they were nothing short of dominant. They outscored McDavid 4-2 at five-on-five, while the Oilers got caved in, controlling just 40.9 per cent of the shot attempt share, 30.1 per cent of the expected goal share, and 40 per cent of the scoring chance share in the matchup.

Had McDavid been healthy, maybe it could’ve been a different story.

Maybe if the Oilers didn’t take the regular season as lightly as they did, it could’ve been a different story. The team plodded through the schedule with barely a hint of intensity.

Maybe if they had put themselves in a spot that didn’t see them fighting for playoff positioning at the 11th hour, it could’ve been a different story.

McDavid knows the Oilers need to rewrite that narrative next season.

“The regular season matters. It’s not easy to get in, as we showed this year, and you’re building your team for when it matters most, and we searched for consistency all year long, and searched for it in the playoffs, too,” said McDavid. “(We) never found that rhythm that we were looking for, and that starts in the regular season, that starts Day 1 of training camp.

“We do need to find a way to have a better regular season. Talk about some of these injuries, maybe we’re not pressing so hard coming down the stretch. Maybe we’re finding some way to get some guys some rest so we’re hitting the playoffs full steam.”

There’s much work to be done from an organizational perspective this summer, and McDavid is reportedly expecting “management to deliver on specific roster adjustments this summer, rather than accepting general promises,” The Athletic reported late this week. The team has eight unrestricted free agents and two restricted free agents from this years roster, and roughly $16.49 million in cap space to work with. The goaltending situation is arguably in a worse spot now than a year ago, and there are more questions than answers.

But McDavid sees light at the end of the tunnel.

“I do see a path, but it’s going to take everybody to be better,” he said. “It’s weird to talk about development for veterans, but us veterans need to find a way to get better, develop, and everybody does, because that’s the only way it’s going to change.”

Buckle up, Oilers fans. It’s going to be a big summer in Edmonton.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s managing editor, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the Daily Faceoff DFS Hockey Report. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.