One of Connor McDavid’s former coaches with the Edmonton Oilers is certainly a believer he’ll be a champion one day.

Long-time NHL coach Dave Tippett was a guest on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast this week, reminiscing about his days with the Phoenix Coyotes with former players Paul Bissonnette and Keith Yandle.

But of course, the topic of Connor McDavid came up. Edmonton was Tippett’s last coaching stop from 2019 to 2022, and although they struggled to get playoff success during his tenure, the 64-year-old believes McDavid will win the Stanley Cup one day.

“He’ll win. I predict it,” said Tippett. “It’s incredible the things he does, and at his speed he does it. Just the way he takes care of himself. I can’t say enough good things about him.”

As we know, the Oilers and McDavid have knocked on the door twice in visiting the Stanley Cup finals, and are hoping to climb the mountain this season. McDavid’s two-year contract extension is underway, and some wonder whether the Oilers are on the clock for McDavid to stay if they don’t win the Cup.

Winning is certainly a driver for McDavid, who also wrote about his commitment to Edmonton at length in a Players’ Tribune article in February. He said winning in Edmonton especially is his goal.

“I’m 11 years into my career. Of course, I think about my legacy. I want to be remembered as a winner. But not just anywhere. Here. To be in this city during a Cup run, to feel that buzz … it just wouldn’t be the same somewhere else,” said McDavid.

The conversation also turned to McDavid’s demeanour. Former Oiler Ryan Whitney wondered if McDavid was too serious all the time, or maybe wound too tight in pursuit of his goals.

“He loosens up all the time with his teammates behind the scenes,” Tippett shared. “He’s very cognizant of everything that’s going around him, and he doesn’t want to bring attention to himself. That’s how he is.

“He could play on a winning team anywhere. He needs to keep at it. He’s gonna find his day.

“The one knock I could say about him, there’s times when he would have an unbelievable game, like five points or whatever, and he was almost embarrassed by his success. Like he wanted to shy away from it, and I always wondered the next game if he’s going to just kind of downplay it and not have a good game.

“That’s during the regular season. During playoffs, he always wanted to play top-notch, but he’s just a good person. He’s an unbelievable player. But he’s got to be. He’s got to watch everything he does because he’s in a fishbowl. You ask any of the players there, he’s a great teammate, really good teammate, but just has to be very cognizant of what’s going on around him.”

Tippett helped the Oilers reach the playoffs twice, but both times they were ousted in the first round. He was fired in February 2022, and replacement Jay Woodcroft helped spark the group, leading to a Western Conference Final appearance against the Colorado Avalanche.

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