Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid likely to undergo abdominal surgery after playing through injury in Stanley Cup Final (Image credit: Imagn)

Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid is reportedly likely to undergo surgery to fix an abdominal injury. On the heels of the Oilers’ nail-biting Stanley Cup finale against the Florida Panthers on Monday, reports emerged from OilersNation indicating that McDavid was likely headed for surgery.

So far, there has been no official word as to what specifically is wrong with McDavid; however, given that surgery is on the table, it sounds serious. Of course, McDavid wasn’t the only player on the Oilers to battle through injuries.

According to OilersNation, which reported the news of Connor McDavid’s abdominal injury, Leon Draisaitl was also playing through a pretty significant setback of his own. As we’ve seen in the past, teams that make deep runs in the Stanley Cup playoffs often are forced to work around injuries.

Despite potentially being headed for the operating room this offseason, McDavid impressed throughout the postseason. He racked up 42 points for the Oilers, cementing his place in the elite company of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

In addition, he nearly tied Gretzky’s record of 13 points in a Stanley Cup Final and became the first player with back-to-back four-point games in the Stanley Cup final. While his numbers on their own were impressive enough, when factoring in an injury that likely requires surgery, his play was nothing short of remarkable.

“I guess it’s an honor” – Connor McDavid expresses disappointment in team’s loss despite winning the Conn Smythe Trophy

Thanks to his spirited play, Connor McDavid was announced as the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy, much to the dismay of Florida fans. After a hard-fought Game 7, commissioner Gary Bettman revealed McDavid as the Conn Smythe winner.

In response, Florida Panthers fans in attendance quickly chimed in with a chorus of boos that showered the ice. Meanwhile, McDavid was already in the Edmonton dressing room, frustrated after coming within arms reach of a historic 3-0 comeback.

While speaking in a televised postgame interview, McDavid spoke about the situation, saying:

“Yeah, obviously, I guess it’s an honor. With the names on that trophy. But … yeah.”

Despite his disappointment in the team’s loss, McDavid was praised by his teammates, specifically Leon Draisaitl, who spoke with media members postgame. As he explained, McDavid deserves praise for singlehandedly turning the franchise around since joining the Oilers.

In addition to his work ethic off the ice, Draisaitl seemed to reference McDavid playing through an injury, indicating that he believes McDavid is the best player to ever step onto the ice.

With his stellar play, Connor McDavid became just the sixth player in NHL history to win the highly-coveted Conn Smythe Trophy from a losing team. Among the other six players to ever be honored with the trophy after losing the Stanley Cup Final, only one other has been a skater, with the rest being netminders.