Brady Tkachuk and his brother Matthew talked about Connor McDavid’s skills on their podcast, Wingmen with Matthew and Brady Tkachuk. They have both faced McDavid many times over the years. Matthew’s Florida Panthers beat the Oilers in the 2024 and 2025 Stanley Cup Finals. They understand how difficult it is to defend against him.
They discussed McDavid’s recent spin move goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets. In that game, McDavid spun around Denton Mateychuk before scoring on a backhand shot. The play came early in the third period and cut the score to 3-2. Mateychuk fell as McDavid moved past him. It was another example of McDavid’s speed and quick hands, and the goal helped Edmonton win 5-4 in overtime.
Brady, Ottawa Senators’ captain, was asked how to stop a move like that. He joked that the only way is to interrupt Connor McDavid’s pre-game nap.
“The only way you could stop it is if you’re calling his hotel room for pre-game nap and just hopefully he doesn’t sleep a second that day,” Brady joked. “I feel like that’s the only way to stop it.”
Matthew added that McDavid once pulled a similar move on him when he was playing for Calgary.
“You will be able to find the clip of me in Calgary playing against them, and he did the exact same move to me,” Matthew said. “But it was higher up in the zone, and he, like, circled off, so he didn’t take it to the net.
However, Matthew’s Panthers have defeated Connor McDavid’s Oilers twice. So, they have been successful in limiting his offense. Matthew said only strong players like Aleksander Barkov and Gustav Forsling come close to slowing him down.
“We’re lucky our team, it’s, it’s every time he was out there, Barky and Forzy would be out there,” Matthew said. “So maybe if every team could get Barky and Forzy out there, that’s maybe how you could attempt to stop it.
“His hands are so quick, and he’s that fast and that smart, I mean, it’s, it’s really tough,” Matthew said. “In a one-on-one situation with that much speed and that bad of a gap, he’s gonna make you look silly.”
Connor McDavid’s impressive start to 2025-26 season
Connor McDavid has started the 2025–26 season with strong numbers again. He has 30 points early in the year and is on pace for another 100-point season. He has scored 9 goals and 21 assists and recently had an eight-game point streak.
Additionally, McDavid has scored eight 100-point seasons in his career. This consistency keeps him among the league’s top players. Many view him as the best player in hockey, often drawing comparisons with legends like Wayne Gretzky.
However, the Oilers have struggled this season, sitting at 9-8-4 fighting inconsistency. They have mixed strong wins with tough losses, and the reason behind it is their defense and goaltending issues. So, the team will need more consistency to push for another playoff run.
Edited by Ankit Kumar
