On April 6th, 2019 the world momentarily stood still for Oilers fans as they looked at their captain Connor McDavid holding his knee in agony after being taken down by Calgary Flames defenceman Mark Giordano and crashing into the post just seconds earlier.
It looked like a possible career-ending injury, but Oilers fans gained some life when the injury was to be just a small PCL tear. Well, that's what we were originally told, but thanks to a trailer that was released for 'Whatever It Takes', a documentary on McDavid's recovery process, we learned that his injury was what more complicated than we realized.
It turns out that his PCL was torn completely in half, and he also suffered torn lining on the back of his knee joint and and a crack on the front of his tibia.
McDavid knew that he needed surgery to repair his injuries, but he was also aware that the procedure would require 10 months of rehab. Instead, he decided to go through some rigorous rehabilitation workouts during the off season in order to be ready for opening night.
Coming into the 2019-20 season everyone was curious how McDavid would perform after his injury, but it didn't hold him back one bit. He had a hot start to the season, and at one point he was on pace for 160+ points. He's slowed down a bit from that pace but still leads the NHL with 76 in 49 games.
'Whatever It Takes' will air Friday on Sportsnet following the All-Star Skills Competition.
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