The mix of high fashion and hockey superstition has quietly become one of the most entertaining storylines of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and Connor McDavid’s wife, Lauren Kyle, is right in the middle of it.
While NHL players are known for playoff beards, strict routines, and game-day rituals, it turns out the wives and girlfriends around the league have their own superstitions too.
Oilers Star Connor McDavid’s Wife Opens Up on Her Superstition
Lauren Kyle McDavid is not only a successful interior designer but also the founder of the sportswear brand Sports Club Atelier. She designs custom playoff jackets worn by the Edmonton Oilers players’ partners and by several other NHL teams across the league.
“We’re making the NHL a little bit more interesting,” were her words precisely.
Those jackets have exploded in popularity on social media during the playoffs, but they’ve also become tied to a growing wave of superstition.
One example came during the Philadelphia Flyers’ first-round series. The team won in overtime while the WAGs wore black leather jackets in Game 3, then lost after switching to orange windbreakers in Game 4. When the black leather jackets returned for Game 6, so did the good fortune, ending with Cam York scoring the overtime series winner.
“We’re all a little bit superstitious about our jackets and if we wear them and if they’re good luck,” Lauren Kyle McDavid said. “That’s a thing.”
As she explained, deciding what to wear to the arena has become about far more than just looking good on camera. It now feels like part of the playoff strategy. If a team loses while the players’ partners are wearing a certain jacket design, that outfit usually gets shoved to the back of the closet for the rest of the series.
Unfortunately for the Oilers, even Kyle McDavid’s custom playoff jackets couldn’t spark a turnaround against the Anaheim Ducks. Edmonton’s postseason came to a disappointing end in a six-game first-round defeat, falling well short of the Stanley Cup expectations surrounding the team entering the playoffs.
The early exit quickly triggered major changes within the organization. Just days after the elimination, the Oilers made the surprising decision to part ways with head coach Kris Knoblauch despite having led the club to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals.
Since the playoff exit, the McDavids have stepped away from the spotlight for some offseason downtime, recently being spotted on a luxury getaway in Turks and Caicos.
ALSO READ: NHL Rumors: Oilers Urged to Go Big-Game Hunting and Pair Leon Draisaitl With 200-Goal Powerhouse
It’s another reminder that during the NHL playoffs, nobody escapes hockey superstition, not even the people designing the outfits.
