Connor McDavid admits the sting of coming up short in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final will haunt him forever.
"It's something that you'll never really get over," the Edmonton Oilers superstar told Sportsnet's Mark Spector on Wednesday. "You'll never not feel those emotions when you think about it. But ultimately, time moves on, and you've got to get ready to go again."
The Florida Panthers defeated the Oilers 2-1 in Game 7 in June to claim their first championship. It was the closest Edmonton had come to winning it all in McDavid's career and the closest since the club lost Game 7 of the Cup Final to the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006.
McDavid typically goes hard with his offseason training, but he changed his approach this time around.
"I went with a little bit of a different strategy this summer," he said. "In years past, it's just been very volume-heavy, Very go, go, go. Throw everything at the wall and hope something sticks. That strategy, as well as it's worked for me, I think about the beginning of last year.
"I was just very tired and fatigued from a long summer of training and was not feeling very good on the ice. And it translated."
The Oilers dug themselves into a hole in the early stages of last season. They went 3-9-1 before firing head coach Jay Woodcroft and replacing him with Kris Knoblauch, who ultimately helped reverse their fortunes.
"Last year taught us that you can't win the Cup in September and October," McDavid said. "But you can certainly put yourself in a tough spot."
The Oilers captain hit triple digits in points for the fourth straight season in 2023-24, notching 32 goals and tying for the league lead with 100 assists across 76 regular-season games. He ramped up his play even higher in the playoffs, posting eight goals and topping the league in both assists (34) and points (42).
McDavid became only the sixth player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy on the team that lost the Cup Final.
