Farewell, Auston Matthews vs. Connor McDavid. See you next year.
In a league that perilously struggles to market its greatest assets, the best opportunity of the season to shift the landscape came and went faster than McDavid picks up speed through the neutral zone.
The Toronto Maple Leafs won't play the Edmonton Oilers again this season, discounting the microscopic possibility of an earth-shattering get-together in the Stanley Cup Final.
The link between the two phenoms is glaringly obvious. Both were drafted first overall in consecutive years to turn their respective long-suffering franchises around, and both are doing a damn fine job of it so far.
We got a taste of their combined talents at the World Cup, where they dazzled as linemates, but the hockey world couldn't wait for them to meet head to head as the cornerstones of two of the most rabid fan bases the NHL has to offer.
As tame as the Crosby-Ovechkin rivalry has become due to the patrons downplaying any individual feud in favor of focusing on team success, at least it was a rivalry at one point. They're in the same division, they've collided in the playoffs twice.
But with Matthews and McDavid, we can't have that. Instead, we're left with two measly meetings every season, searching to compare the two with hardly any head-to-head data to draw from. Comparisons between them might be far-fetched, but they're inevitable.
Perhaps its not all that bad for the NHL, though. McDavid shares a conference with Patrik Laine, while Matthews is a short drive from Jack Eichel, but the luster isn't the same. Not at this point, at least.
Hockey fans can only hope that maybe one day, Matthews and McDavid will square off while representing their countries on the game's biggest stage. But until that time - or until the stars align perfectly to actually get Toronto and Edmonton in the playoffs - we're left with just two matchups per season, which sadly - yet uncontrollably - isn't enough.
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