It’s time to have a serious conversation about Connor McDavid and one of the sport’s ultimate barroom debates.
His latest remarkable feat of recording 100 assists in a season further helps the argument that he’s already earned a spot on hockey’s Mount Rushmore at age 27.
McDavid just posted the 14th season in NHL history of 100 helpers — and the first since Wayne Gretzky’s 11th in 1990-91 — thanks to an assist on Zach Hyman’s second-period goal in a 9-2 win over the San Jose Sharks on Monday. He got there just ahead of Nikita Kucherov. The Tampa Bay Lightning winger, who’s played five more games than McDavid this season, recorded his 99th assist on Monday and has one game left to hit the milestone.
McDavid joins Gretzky (11 times), Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr as the only players in this club.
Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr are on just about everyone’s Mount Rushmore list. A year after winning his first Rocket Richard Trophy with 64 goals — the most since 2007-08 when Alex Ovechkin had 65 until Auston Matthews this season — McDavid’s penchant for playmaking has made him part of this exclusive crew and bolstered the Mount Rushmore case he’s been building since he entered the NHL.
We were robbed of experiencing McDavid’s true greatness in his rookie season when he sustained a broken collarbone following a controversial hit by Brandon Manning.
McDavid racked up 48 points in 45 games that season — an 87-point pace. For reference, 87 points would have put McDavid third in the 2015-16 scoring race, sandwiched between Jamie Benn and Sidney Crosby.
It wasn’t enough to win the Calder Trophy but he’s more than made up for that in terms of collecting awards. McDavid has won the Art Ross Trophy five times in the seven completed seasons since his freshman campaign and come second twice.
McDavid was right in the thick of the scoring race again this season. Despite a dreadful start by his standards — he had 10 points in his first 11 games — McDavid clawed his way back into the picture and took his first lead on March 30. A sixth Art Ross win, which would match Lemieux and Gordie Howe for second all-time behind Gretzky (10), will have to wait after McDavid was sidelined last week with a lower-body injury. But he’s already in rarefied air — tied with greats Phil Esposito and Jaromir Jagr.
It must be noted that McDavid’s always played with at least 30 teams in the NHL. That’s a minimum of 600 active skaters he’s battling with and against. With due respect to those greats before him who appeared in shallower pools, it’s infinitely harder to win scoring championships now. For McDavid to already be in the inner circle for the number of career titles in this era is all but an unfathomable accomplishment.
He’s also closing in on 1,000 career points, just 18 away after a one-goal, one-assist effort against the Sharks, and he could become the third-fastest player to get there. Gretzky and Lemieux, who enjoyed their NHL prime seasons when offense was at its peak, reached that mark in 424 and 513 games, respectively. Next up is Mike Bossy at 656 games.
McDavid has skated in 644 games, meaning he has 11 games to best Bossy. Given McDavid has scored at a 1.82 points-per-game clip over the last two seasons — and has 122 points in his last 64 games since the Oilers’ coaching change on Nov. 12 — he’s got a good chance to do it.
The term “generational player” gets handed out like candy on Halloween these days. McDavid is the standard to which others fall short. He’s already won the Hart Trophy three times — tied with Ovechkin and one ahead of Crosby in terms of contemporaries — good for a tie for fourth all-time. The last two times he’s been given the award, just a single first-place vote wasn’t cast in his favor.
McDavid will certainly be in the running for another Hart this season. That his production is in any way considered subpar given the drop in goals and not being the clear-cut scoring leader shows his brilliance.
As for his overall legacy at this point, detractors will surely point to the one major trophy missing from his mantlepiece: the Stanley Cup.
McDavid is the first to acknowledge that he shouldn’t be considered one of the greatest players ever without winning one. He’s said repeatedly that the focus this season isn’t individual accolades but rather lifting the silver chalice in June.
Whether this spring or somewhere down the line, it feels unimaginable that McDavid won’t win the Stanley Cup at least once by the time his career is over. Sure, there have been many outstanding players who retired without having their names engraved on it. McDavid is a cut or two above them all.
A Cup (or two or three) over the next decade or so would undoubtedly make him close to a Mount Rushmore lock. The Oilers are in their contention window and should be a favorite to win it all this season.
It says here he doesn’t even need that type of team success to be considered a face of the league’s history.
As with scoring titles, claiming the Stanley Cup is harder than it’s ever been in NHL history. There aren’t six teams now. The World Hockey Association hasn’t ripped apart several organizations today. There aren’t several franchises with shoestring budgets as there were before the advent of the salary cap.
The parity of this era means that almost any of the 16 teams that make the playoffs have a chance to win it all. The Western Conference this season, for instance, is filled with strong squads who all could get to the final.
The Oilers could lose in an early round, which would be a massive disappointment for the team and its captain. Should that happen, though, it would almost certainly not be McDavid’s fault. Look no further than his last two playoff sessions as the indicator.
McDavid had 53 points in 28 games over five series and was the Oilers’ best player — just ahead of Leon Draisaitl. He showed up at key moments, especially at the end of the Los Angeles and Calgary matchups in 2022. He’s fourth in playoff points per game in NHL history — just behind Draisaitl.
So, put aside team success for now. McDavid has proven time and time again he’s one of the best players the NHL has ever seen.
If Gretzky and Lemieux are the game’s gold standards — and with Orr right there, too — the list of those in contention for the fourth Mount Rushmore spot isn’t short. Crosby, Ovechkin, Howe and Richard highlight it — and that’s before even considering defensemen or goaltenders.
McDavid’s latest achievement already has him squarely up for consideration. Here’s betting he’ll be the best choice by the time he hangs them up.
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(Photo of Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman: Paul Swanson / NHLI via Getty Images)
