Connor McDavid’s climb through the NHL record book is getting hard to ignore, and for some around the game, the Oilers star is already knocking on the door of all-time greatness.
There are plenty of fans who have spent the last 11 seasons watching McDavid and think he’s the best player they’ve ever seen. That group includes people who also saw Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier in their prime on numerous occasions. Bob Stauffer, host of Oilers Now on 880 CHED, has called McDavid the most advanced player in the history of the game, while Oil Country’s Alan Mitchell, host of the Lowdown with Lowetide on Sports 1440, says McDavid is nearing a historic milestone as he closes in on 1300 career points.
Mitchell pointed out on his Aug. 18 show that Gretzky sits first all time in points per game at 1.921, with Mario Lemieux second at 1.883. McDavid is third at 1.537, a number Mitchell believes has not gotten enough credit because Gretzky and Lemieux played in a much different era than today’s NHL.
He also noted that McDavid’s scoring résumé has been somewhat overshadowed by the career totals of Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin, who is closing in on 950 goals, and Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, who could soon move into the top five in career assists and points.
The raw totals still tell a loud story. McDavid is 47th all time with 1,220 points, and he needs 80 more to catch Calgary Flames forward Jarome Iginla for 39th.
Mitchell said he could get there as soon as January. That would be a major achievement in its own right, especially given how dominant Iginla was during his career.
McDavid already has more points than Maurice Richard, who finished with 966, Bobby Hull, who had 1170, and Jean Beliveau, who had 1219.
The biggest question, though, is the one hockey never really stops asking: does McDavid need a Stanley Cup to enter the best-ever conversation?
Many pundits and fans think so, and McDavid himself is among them. Gretzky won four Cups with the Oilers, Lemieux won two with the Penguins, and Crosby has three Stanley Cup rings.
Still, when the discussion shifts from team hardware to pure skill, McDavid makes a fierce case. The source argues he is the most complete player the NHL has ever seen, just ahead of Lemieux, who was otherworldly while leading Pittsburgh to Stanley Cups in the 1990s and Team Canada to a gold medal in the 2002 Winter Olympics. McDavid’s speed and stickhandling are described as better than Gretzky’s, even if he doesn’t quite match The Great One’s creativity.
And then there’s the bigger debate, the one that never really ends. Fans who grew up on Maurice “The Rocket” Richard see him as the greatest. Others point to Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Guy Lafleur, or Howie Morenz, who won three Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens before injury cut his brilliant career short in the 1930s.
If McDavid wins a Stanley Cup with the Oilers - or with another team, as Ray Bourque did with the Colorado Avalanche - then he should be considered the greatest of all time. That’s the vote here, though the argument, as always, stays open.
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