That didn't take long.

Three games, or more telling, one loss into his tenure as captain, folks were openly questioning Connor McDavid's capacity as leader of the Edmonton Oilers. What lit this inevitable fuse, or presented the wedge with which some cannot wait to drive? The postponement of an off day to 48 hours after it was initially promised.

The impetus was simple. After a nightmarish performance versus a Buffalo Sabres team that limped into Edmonton on Sunday, the call was made to get the game tape out of the way, then work to shore up those deficiencies on the ice before repeating them Tuesday when another pair of points were on the line versus the Carolina Hurricanes.

Seems sensible enough.

What's dragged McDavid into it, and what has some questioning his authority, is conjecture. How exactly did this go down? And better, did McDavid, the youngest captain ever, have the courage to say no?

Talking about practice

So then let's go down that path. A livid Todd McLellan storms into the locker room, tears an absolute strip off his club (beginning and ending with Benoit Pouliot), and in that rage, tells them to cancel those trips to the pumpkin patch, demanding sweat in the morning. This scenario is possible, assuming that a smart, reasoned, aware, experienced hockey mind picked to work with young talent like McLellan would gleefully be willing to place his phenomenal talent under the microscope, prompting discussion online and on the radio about his authority in the room.

Maybe it went another way. Perhaps it was McDavid doing the screaming, and when he was through with the just concussed Jonas Gustavsson (sorry about that, Jonas), he marched into the coach's office and scratched down on the whiteboard the time he expects the pucks and cones to be on the ice in the morning.

Or, in the much more likely, far less rah-rah scenario which players and coach have since alluded to, there was a quiet, commonsensical discussion between members of the team who make these sorts of decisions. And off to the side, the many pros came to outweigh any potential cons. At the end of the chat, Milan Lucic, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and coach McLellan turned to McDavid to make it official, and with an approving nod it was settled: practice Monday.

Losing to the Sabres on the third night of the regular season falls short of the "compelling circumstances" required to wipe out a mandated day carved onto the calendar at the beginning of the month, as detailed in the CBA. For this reason, Edmonton will almost certainly face some sort of sanction for the decision.

But spinning this in a way that questions McDavid's integrity, or suggests that McLellan was taking advantage of his star pupil, is both contrived and absurd. The superstar who didn't become the next best on the planet by racking up lieu days was presented an idea, chose the option with the betterment of his club in mind despite what inconveniences it may cause, received full backing from his teammates, and against the Hurricanes, had the antecedents of this saga (and potential sanctioning) justified by a win and a 3-1 record to start the season.

Sounds captain-like.

McDavid wasn't handpicked to head up a labor union. He was named Oilers captain for his immense talent that naturally commands respect. And second, because the habits that got him to another level as an individual, and his endless desire to be great, is the precise example that needs to be set inside a locker room that hasn't sniffed the postseason in more than a decade.

The Ten

10) Florida - The Lightning and Panthers have combined to take the maximum amount of points through three games after needing a shootout to decide their first meeting of the season.

9) Richard Panik - The winger who didn't belong in the Maple Leafs rebuild has a home in the Blackhawks' top six. Panik recorded his first career hat trick in a win over the Predators.

8) Thomas Vanek - Trending toward an exit from the league, Vanek has found new life in Detroit. He scored twice in the Red Wings' first game, and then racked up a trio of assists in the club's home opener.

7) Gary Bettman - There's no way he resisted reaching for the good bottle while watching Auston Matthews on NBCSN in prime time Saturday. Even with his persistence in the market, even he likely couldn't have ever envisioned his next star hailing from Scottsdale, Ariz.

6) Scoring defensemen - Scoring is up across the board, and hopefully it stays that way as more and more teams uncover ways to activate their blue liners. Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns are the model rovers, and are setting up for some scoring race. Each has at least one point in their four respective games, with Burns leading Karlsson (and the rest of the NHL) with eight points.

5) Rangers - Ten different goal scorers and a league-best 4.67 goals per game, the Rangers are off to a flying start. With an emphasis on tempo, and scorers littered throughout the lineup, this team looks capable of outscoring the flaws once again.

4) Al Montoya - Go ahead and invest in some furniture, Al. The well-traveled Montoya has been massive in Montreal with Carey Price out, making at least 30 saves in three straight games and taking five out of six possible points.

3) Marian Hossa - The 44th player in league history to reach the milestone, 500 goals is no small feat. What's also remarkable about Hossa was both his willingness and ability to transform himself into a dominant two-way player after his prime scoring seasons were over.

2) Maple Leafs - Based on a week, the next 100 years look promising. Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner have the look of genuine franchise players to build a championship team around.

1) The league - Positivity! With Matthews leading a spike in goals with four in his sensational debut, and McDavid the league's No. 1 star with six points in his first two games, it was a tremendous opening week for the suits.

More Takes

1) In Joe Colborne, the Avalanche may have the wisest free-agent acquisition. The versatile forward, who became the second player in Avalanche franchise history to debut with a hat trick, has 50-point potential (to go along with his steadying defensive prowess) in that talented top six. That's a bargain at $5 million over two years.

2) Though Jonathan Marchessault looks pretty good at $750,000, too.

3) We'll soon sit around and wonder how the Rangers signed Chris Kreider to that contract. With an overwhelming blend of speed, strength, and scoring touch, Kreider is clearly the most dangerous forward in a talented top nine in New York, and a strong candidate to have a major breakout season.

4) This is nutty:

5) Trading for a goaltender will only debilitate the Kings. It's just three games, and they're currently trotting out a replacement-level starter in goal, but Dean Lombardi has to consider Jonathan Quick's injury an opportunity to take a step back. With the right tweaks, this team can pull off a quick reboot; what they can't do is mortgage the house further for a replacement who can't match Quick's standard. Y'know, Ondrej Pavelec.

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