Agent: McDavid's knee improving but 'can't say' if he'll play in opener

Connor McDavid's knee is apparently progressing on schedule, but with less than a month until the start of the 2019-20 season, there's no guarantee the Edmonton Oilers will have their captain in the lineup on opening night.

"On Sept. 3, you can't say whether he's ready or not to start the season," McDavid's agent, Jeff Jackson, told Sportsnet's Mark Spector on Tuesday. "He has another month before the season starts, and he's in very good shape. No one is saying (he will be delayed) until November or December. He's done extremely well so far, and everyone is happy with his progression."

McDavid crashed hard into the net in the Oilers' 2018-19 season finale on April 6. He tore his PCL, but didn't require surgery and was given a recovery timeline of six months.

"For a guy like him, who relies so much on his skating his edgework, cutting back ... you don't want to have anything go wrong when you're rehabbing," Jackson said. "So it's been very meticulous, very carefully orchestrated, the progression. But he's doing really well."

After not taking part in on-ice activities at BioSteel Camp in late August, McDavid said he was "working toward" getting to Edmonton's training camp, which opens next week. The club will then begin its regular season Oct. 2 versus the Vancouver Canucks.

"He hasn't had any setbacks," Jackson said. "He's put in a lot of time and effort into his summer, spending significant hours every day making sure he's doing everything in his power to be ready. So far, it seems to have worked. But, if they played in two days, he wouldn't be playing."

McDavid's injury was a sour ending to an otherwise outstanding individual campaign in 2018-19. The 22-year-old was a Hart Trophy finalist after posting a career-high 116 points in 78 games.