It’s the NHL postseason, when rumors travel faster than the pucks from Leon Draisaitl’s slap shots. And the gossip train has churned out a big one this time. The jewel of the Edmonton Oilers, Connor McDavid, may ditch the oil capital of Canada after a decade. But it’s the rumored destination that makes this piece of speculation sound wild. Which team is it? Oh, the newly crowned 2025 Stanley Cup Champions know a thing or two about them.

It all came alive in the ‘Spittin’ Chiclets’ Show on June 20, and a little snippet of it was shared on X by Game Notes. Are you ready? They didn’t need to get creative with the caption: “McDavid to Tampa?! 🤯 The #Rumor-Boyz are back at it.” In the clip, Boston Bruins fan, Mike Grinnell, took it away off the handle: “Can I follow up on this Toronto, I mean, this Tampa rumor, though? Merl’s like, what, like what, what were you hearing?”

The main question is, how does it actually go down? It’s the details that matter. Well, host Matt Murley came clean from his side. “There wasn’t much detail. It just said that it was a rumor.” But? Murley continued, “It makes a lot of sense. He’s gotta be so sick of this media up in Canada … A team from Florida, what, but won the cup four of the last six, is it or something? Or then they’ve been in the finals five of the last six?”

Spittin’ Chiclets co-host Colby Armstrong also joined in talking up the Florida dominance in the NHL. “I had them. I think I had them winning this year if we go back.” Well, he probably saw the right thing, which many didn’t.  When the Panthers finished 3rd in the Atlantic Division in the regular season, many doubted if the South Florida team would defend its title. Well, we know how that unraveled.

Armstrong continued, “When Florida won, (Matthew) Tkachuk was asked about their run and what it was like. And he specifically mentioned Tampa Bay as being like their hardest, I know they went 7 with Toronto.” The opening round of the Playoffs was a grueling 5-game series. It’s not just any match-up. It’s the Battle of Florida. And the fact that these two teams have been dominating the Stanley Cup narrative for the last 6 years makes it a lucrative proposition for Connor McDavid.

Talking about Tkachuk’s response, Armstrong, aka Armdog, also added how Tampa is at the right stage. “He (Tkachuk) specifically said like, they had to be ready to go out the gates against Tampa. And like Tampa had, was like, kind of dialing up for this epic run. That’s how I felt. And then they have the weapons to do it too, so.” Maybe the only addition they need is the genius magician Connor McDavid.

In fact, they are comparing this possible trade to Lebron James’ move to the Miami Heat, where the Canadian center would be “leaving the small market, going to the warm, tax-friendly state.” The proponent of the rumor, Matt Murley, stated, “When I heard that, I was like, well, that makes a lot more sense than Toronto … Who wants to go deal with that media?” No doubt, the Maple Leafs have their problems.

But what about the Oilers? The way the Stanley Cup Finals went down and the media noise in Canada, it couldn’t have been easy to deal with.

Connor McDavid’s quiet Stanley Cup Final and the media scrutiny

It’s not just that the Panthers won, but rather a Canadian team lost yet again. This stretches the Stanley Cup drought for Canada to 33 years. That’s where it really hurt. Before the Stanley Cup Finals started on June 4, many Canadians were convinced the Oilers could take down the Panthers.

They had Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in hot form. The D-zone had looked resolute. And fans were convinced the Oilers wouldn’t lose to the same team in back-to-back finals. But the Panthers had absolutely nullified the 2024 Conn Smythe Trophy winner. McDavid had just 7 points in 6 games. How many goals did the 3-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner have? One. One single goal in the biggest stage of the season.

In the Stanley-Cup clinching Game 6, the 28-year-old had no points with a -4 rating. But the media had started raising criticism before that. And coach Kris Knoblauch had to respond by playing it down. “A lot of it being unfortunate. I think there’s been a lot of good scoring chances for him … I’ve got no issues with his game.” He even said McDavid had been one of their “best players every single night”.

But that in itself is the problem, isn’t it? When the goaltenders are leaking goals, defenders like Evan Bouchard are conceding turnovers in dangerous positions, and on top of that, your best player scores just 7 points in 6 games, it becomes a major problem to be solved. When Connor McDavid was asked about the Stanley Cup loss in the postgame presser, he mentioned a key bit: “We kept trying the same thing over and over again … just banging our heads against the wall.”

Do you think Connor McDavid needs a change of scenery himself to alter his Stanley Cup chances? Let us know in the comments!