Barely a dozen games into his NHL career, Oilers rookie phenom Connor McDavid is scheduled to undergo surgery Wednesday to repair a fractured left clavicle he suffered on Tuesday night.
According to Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli, McDavid will be out indefinitely.
"Not week-to-week. We're talking about months, plural. Months," Chiarelli said in a press conference. "Connor is such a special player. As such a young player, it's disappointing. Today feels like a loss. And we won last night."
McDavid, 18, broke his collarbone when he crashed awkwardly into the boards after losing his edge on a rush. Flyers defencemen Brandon Manning and Michael Del Zotto landed on top of him, intensifying the high-speed impact.
When he first saw the collision, Chiarelli said to himself: "This isn't going to be good."
ContentId(1.387948): Button: Oilers can survive McDavid injury
McDavid was just beginning to spread his wings in the NHL. He leads all rookies with 12 points in 13 games and was named the NHL's rookie of the month for October after ripping off a seven-game point streak.
Edmonton's loss is a blow to the entire NHL. Chiarelli couldn't hide his disappointment. After a long stretch of futility, McDavid's injury threatens to slow the young team's positive momentum.
"He's done a lot of things as a rookie in this league and as a player in general," Chiarelli said. "He's a bright-eyed kid that comes in and makes everybody's day. He comes in and he's always happy. That will be missed. I think just because he's young, 18, a lot of guys feel for him like a little brother."
Chiarelli could not provide a more detailed timeline for McDavid's return, which is unlikely to come until the calendar flips to 2016. A precise timetable for return from this type of injury varies depending on severity of the fracture and precise location. Chicago's Patrick Kane underwent surgery on Feb. 25 last season and returned within seven weeks; his original prognosis was 12 weeks.
In McDavid's case, a surgeon is expected to go in, properly set the bone in place and strengthen the area to prevent further injury. Surgery may, in fact, speed up the healing process in addition to making it stronger. Chiarelli confirmed there would be "plates and screws involved" and his understanding is team surgeons are not expecting any surprises.
Chiarelli said age, with regard to bone growth and development, also plays into the healing process. It may take longer for an 18-year-old to return than a fully developed 26-year-old.
"The human side is that there was an 18-year-old kid, so to speak, after the game that was very upset and had a significant injury to his shoulder," Chiarelli said. "He was upset. He loves to play the game and he won't be playing it for a while."
Despite their luck in the lottery, the Oilers haven't been as fortunate in keeping their No. 1 overall picks on the ice. Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins missed a combined 37 games in their rookie seasons. The other eight top picks since Alex Ovechkin in 2004 sat out for a total of 13 games in their rookie year.
Chiarelli said he didn't believe in curses, but the Oilers seemed to be finally beginning to turn the corner after a decade of despair. Now, in McDavid's absence, they will suddenly look a lot like last year's lineup.
ContentId(1.387944): Local fan reaction to McDavid's injury
"The injury was bad luck. He lost an edge," Chiarelli said. "Listen, right now, we're five and eight. Are we turned around? Not by any means. What I've seen is compete and support. I've talked a lot about progress …The silver lining is that he's young. He'll come back even stronger. He will be back. He'll be like a trade acquisition when he comes back. Teams suffer catastrophic injuries and they figure it out."
Frank Seravalli can be reached at frank.seravalli@bellmedia.ca.