Connor McDavid isn’t expected to face any supplemental discipline from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety after elbowing Minnesota Wild winger Marcus Johansson, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported Thursday.
The hit in question happened late in the second period of the Oilers’ 5-3 win over the Wild Wednesday night.
No fine expected for #Oilers Connor McDavid elbow on #mnwild Marcus Johansson last night.https://t.co/kKCDgkhgSx
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) January 16, 2025
Johansson was defending as McDavid skated towards Minnesota’s blue line, dropping a pass to Leon Draisaitl. When he did, he caught Johansson with an elbow on the chin that sent him to the ice and no penalty was called on the play. Johansson would leave the game and didn’t return with what the Wild called an upper-body injury.
That left members of the Wild irate after the game, with defenceman Jake Middleton calling the hit “horseshit.”
“I don’t care if it’s the best player in the world,” he said, according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo.
Johansson is expected to miss some time due to an injury sustained during the play, Wild head coach John Hynes said after the game, emphasizing there was an elbow on the play.
“I don’t even want to go down that road because it would probably infuriate you more than it infuriates me right now,” said Hynes when asked what the referees told him after the hit. “I’m just going to bypass that. Similar to the other game, not a good answer, let me put it that way.”
McDavid doesn’t have a long rap sheet, suspended once in his career for an illegal check to the head of New York Islanders defenceman Nick Leddy, and fined once for an elbow to then-Montreal Canadiens forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
His hit on Johansson wasn’t the only borderline dirty play in Wednesday’s chippy affair, as Wild forward Ryan Hartman kicked Leon Draisaitl’s feet out from below him in the third period.
Johansson missing time for the Wild is far from ideal for them, given they have a plethora of injuries to forwards Jakub Lauko and Kirill Kaprizov, as well as defencemen Jared Spurgeon, Brock Faber, and Jonas Brodin.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.