Greg Cote doubles down on Connor McDavid criticism after SportsCentre callout

By Abhishek Dilta

Modified Jun 06, 2024 05:12 GMT

Florida columnist Greg Cote thinks Connor McDavid is overrated because, despite his impressive stats, he has not led his team to the coveted Stanley Cup in nine seasons. Despite being called out on SportsCentre, Cote's opinion of the Oilers captain remains unchanged.

Cote believes that to be referred to as the best player in the sport or 'generational,' McDavid should have led his team to the ultimate victory, as Wayne Gretzky did for the Edmonton Oilers during the 1980s.

Cote believes Connor McDavid has yet to demonstrate something beyond stats that will propel his team to the next level.

However, TSN analyst Mike Jonshon hopped on SportsCentre with Jay Onrait and ridiculed Greg Cote for calling McDavid overrated.

"This is preposterous, outrageous, ridiculous, and just flat-out wrong. ... if you're a hockey writer, at some point, you're going to look back on this article and this headline and say, 'Hmm, that was not my finest journalistic moment,' because this is just ridiculous and wrong," Johnson said.

"If you know anything about hockey, and I'm assuming Greg might, you'll know that one player, no matter how great he is, cannot get it done and win a Stanley Cup on his own. Not McDavid, not anybody," he added.

Cote didn't budge after Mike Johnson's jab. During the LeBatardShow podcast, Cote said he's standing by his opinion of labeling McDavid as "overrated."

"You know, I stand by that opinion. You can quibble with the word overrated. I could have called him an underachiever." – @gregcote on calling Connor McDavid McOverrated," via LeBatardShow on X.

Greg Cote took on the criticism head-on and came up with a fresh rendition of 'O Canada.'

"O Canada…So sad I riled you up. Sad that Connor McDavid for all his stats has not lived up. Sad that your McJesus has never raised the Stanley Cup," Cote said via The Greg Cote Show on X.

Connor McDavid reflects on pressure of playing in Stanley Cup Finals

McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers advanced to the final after beating the Dallas Stars in their Western Conference Finals series. This will be the first Cup final for McDavid in his career, while the Oilers will be playing their first since 2006.

"We always believed in ourselves and each other and knew that putting ourselves in this position was always a possibility and it feel goods to have done that," McDavid said in a press conference on Sunday (via USA Today).

The Oilers have the opportunity to become the first Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup since 1993, and McDavid understands the pressure of playing in the final while representing Canada.

"There is pressure playing in the Stanley Cup final, no matter where your teams from," McDavid said. "So, obviously we're a Canadian team, we got great Canadian fans and it feels good to maybe unite the country a little bit and have something to bring people together."

The Stanley Cup Finals between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers begin on Saturday, June 8, at the Amerant Bank Arena (8 p.m. ET).