As the dust settles and word comes out that Connor McDavid won’t appeal his three-game suspension for cross-checking Conor Garland, the Oilers have released a statement supporting their captain.

In it, the club expressed their displeasure over the suspension.

While McDavid hasn’t commented on the suspension, his teammates sure have. Head coach Kris Knoblauch did so after Saturday’s game between the Oilers and Canucks, highlighting how “there’s frustration” about Garland being able to clutch and grab McDavid, while teammates Leon Draisaitl and Corey Perry have voiced similar feelings this week.

Perry told Sportsnet’s Mark Spector Monday how players have to protect themselves, noting that “if you don’t, you’re just going keep getting the shit kicked out of you.” He also posed the question of why the league isn’t protecting their superstars like other professional sports leagues.

“Sure, they’re going to take extra abuse,” Perry said. “They’re the superstars. Connor knows that and he doesn’t bitch and complain very often about it. So we’ll do it for him.”

Draisaitl, meanwhile, felt three games was too much for both McDavid and Tyler Myers, who got an equal suspension for his cross-check of Evan Bouchard.
“Certainly think three games is a little too much for either side, but I guess we don’t overly care about having our best players in the league in the game,” he said.

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.