Connor McDavid calls Oilers 'average team' after season-ending loss to Ducks

The Edmonton Oilers took a step back this season.

After back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Final, including a Game 7 loss in 2024, the Oilers are out in the first round, falling to an Anaheim Ducks team that just ended a seven-year playoff drought.

"We were an average team all year," Oilers captain Connor McDavid told reporters after the Game 6 loss in Anaheim. "When you're an average team with high expectations, you're going to be disappointed. We just never found it."

"We were an average team all year. When you're an average team with high expectations, you're going to be disappointed."

Connor McDavid speaks with the media following the end of the Oilers season pic.twitter.com/e4XcMmwRzu— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 1, 2026

McDavid, who signed a team-friendly, two-year extension to allow the team to build a stronger contender, still drives the team. So does Leon Draisaitl, but both of them were dealing with injuries. Even though the goaltending was changed to Connor Ingram and Tristan Jarry, it didn't get them as far. The penalty kill was the worst in the league in the playoffs.

"We expected to have a longer run than we did. It is what it is," McDavid said.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Connor McDavid after Oilers loss to Ducks: 'We were an average team'