The Edmonton Oilers are currently in a bit of a funny position, a transient space, let’s call it, not here or there. Not completely failing at the playoffs but consistently (for two years in a row) showing up just short of the Stanley Cup. It must take a toll, to have nearly had the Cup twice, and to have not been able to cinch it. And, if one thinks along the lines of ‘third time’s the charm’ then maybe this second time was a necessary wake up call, maybe now is when the Oilers have to really get their game together, get in shape and work on that depth playing, however, by the looks of it, two Oiler’s top players, i.e., Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, are currently not in their best form.
At a recent Beer League game in Newmarket, fans were hugely surprised to see two of hockey’s biggest stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl roll onto the ice along with the likes of some amateurs in such a casual setting. However, while one would think McDavid and Draisaitl would show up at the amateur leagues and blow everyone away, they ended up not doing so well.
In a video that has now gone viral, a fan shared a short section of the Beer League match in which McDavid and Draisaitl appeared in, writing that the two stars were down 4-0 after the first period! This, obviously, took the internet by storm, considering this is technically the second best team in the NHL, and has been for the past few years.
Not the ideal start for 97 and 29 in Newmarket’s beer league… pic.twitter.com/mOXpUWmv1q
— BarDown (@BarDown) July 17, 2025
Additionally, McDavid, has a number of records to his name, including being the fourth fastest player to have reached 1000 points and being a five time winner of the Art Ross Trophy. Draisaitl is no stranger to records, holding one for the most overtime records in a single playoff series, so how exactly did the internet respond to these players being 4 goals down in the first period?
Fans react to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl showing up at the Beer League with a disappointing performance
One fan made a fairly obvious quip, joking that Oiler’s star’s team was probably down because they had Oiler’s goaltender Stuart Skinner between the posts. “They must have Skinner in net,” the fan wrote, alluding to Skinner’s sub par performance this past year. Skinner performed alright in the regular season, with a final save percentage of .889, he was however pulled in some playoff games, including in game 3 and 4 of the final series.
Another fan took it upon himself to address all the Skinner hate and redirect it towards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, saying of the two, “These guys let us down in the finals. Blame Skinner all you want but when you consume as much as they do of the cap, (over a quarter of it) you have to play way better in the end. Not gritty enough. 6 of the 8 losses in the past two finals, the Oilers averaged 1.00 goals per game.” Considering McDavid’s is the 7th richest NHL star with an average annual salary is $12,500,000 and Draisaitl’s is $14,000,000 then yes, maybe they should be doing a little bit more.
Another fan took it upon themselves to stand up for the standard of hockey in the Beer League, saying, “People hear “beer league” and think novice. It’s not. On Long Island my league has B,C,D,E divisions. D has 12 Div…in the 2nd lowest D div some teams have 2-3 college players. B league is still consider “beer league”. No, they are obv not mcdavid but are still insanely talented,” So maybe McDavid and Draisaitl showed up at the Beer League for some real practice?
Another fan offered the opposite argument, saying, “I’ve played with pros in beer league before and they typically don’t try too hard. It’s just a mild workout” hinting at the possibility that maybe McDavid and Draisaitl were just goofing around rather than getting schooled by amateurs.
And finally one fan hit it where it hurts, saying “Still playing better than they did in the finals.” Yup, last month the Panthers beat the Oilers 5-1 to win the Stanley Cup for a second time in a row, in case anyone needed a reminder. Ouch!
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