Connor McDavid is usually as bland in interviews as he is exhilarating on the ice. Maybe you just need to rattle his cage like Brandon Manning apparently did during Thursday’s eventual Flyers win.
The accusation is serious: McDavid believes that Manning injured him on purpose during that memorable crash into the boards from last season. (You can try to give it the Zapruder treatment in the video above.)
Basically, McDavid claims that Manning essentially said that he intended to hurt the Edmonton Oilers star.
"It shows what kind of guy he is" - Connor McDavid comments on "classless" actions from the Flyers' Brandon Manning. pic.twitter.com/TFjVaXN10m
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 9, 2016
Some key quotes in case you’d rather just read them:
“I did all I could defending him last year in the media,” McDavid said. “Everyone wanted to make a big deal saying he did it on purpose. And he made some comments today about what went on last year and I thought it was one of the most classless things I’ve ever seen on the ice.
” ... I guess we can put the whole if he did it on purpose thing to rest because what he said out there kinda confirmed that.”
Wow.
Manning, for his part, denied the accusation:
Could it be trash talk to get under McDavid’s skin? No. 97 certainly looked a little extra motivated during this celebration.
(Apparently McDavid was “chirping” the Flyers all night.)
Whether the truth is on McDavid’s side, Manning’s side or somewhere in between, there’s clearly some bad blood. In case you’re wondering, yes, the two teams play one more time this season (on Feb. 16).
