Connor McDavid keeps forcing the conversation past the normal ceiling.
Through his first 10 games, the Edmonton Oilers star has piled up 31 points, a start that puts him on a pace for production not seen since Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. He added five points in Thursday night’s 6-5 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, and that kind of night has only sharpened the spotlight heading into Edmonton’s matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
For Toronto first-overall pick Gavin McKenna, the assignment is obvious and brutally difficult. After practice on Friday, he acknowledged what McDavid is doing and what it means for the Maple Leafs.
"“It’s going to be tough. You see what he’s doing right now, he’s obviously very confident, so it’s going to be a challenge. But, I think with this team and how we’ve been playing defensively, I think we can step up and do the job.”"
McKenna’s confidence in Toronto’s blue line is one thing. Actually slowing McDavid down is another. So far this season, nobody has really managed it, and the usual line about containing the NHL’s best player feels more like a warning label than a plan.
The numbers have already pushed McDavid into territory that looks almost unreal. He is not just tracking toward a huge season - he is threatening the kind of offensive pace that would make even 200 points feel like a reasonable conversation. Leon Draisaitl said after Thursday’s game that McDavid might already be the best, and that kind of praise only adds to the sense that what he’s doing right now is on another level.
McKenna had another way to put it after getting a taste of the league himself.
"“I think, now having a taste of what the NHL is like, it just makes it that much crazier. It’s like every night you’re just expecting him to put up five points. I don’t know how he’s doing it, but I got to skate with him this summer and kind of see what he was like, and he’s out of this world.”"
That’s the challenge in front of Toronto: a player performing like someone beyond the usual standard, and a young first-overall pick trying to make sense of it in real time.
In Other News...
Leafs Make A Surprising Lineup Call Against A Brutal Oilers Test
The Maple Leafs are leaning on a different look in goal for a tough date with the Oilers, with Anthony Stolarz getting the start as Toronto tries to steady itself against one of the leagues most dangerous attacks. Sergei Bobrovsky will serve as the backup, and the setup gives the Leafs a little more intrigue in a game where every lineup choice feels magnified.
On the blue line, Dakota Mermis is set for his season debut after being recalled from the Marlies, a move that reflects just how thin Toronto has become on defense. Chris Tanev, Nick Blankenburg and Marshall Rifai are all in the injury mix, so the Leafs are piecing together their back end while trying to survive a brutal test without much margin for error. [Read more 🡒]
Leafs Face A Familiar Trade Dilemma On Defense
The Maple Leafs keep circling the same question on the blue line: whether a trade can shore up a defense that has left plenty of room for debate. One name that fits the conversation is Rasmus Ristolainen, the Philadelphia defenseman whose size and style have long made him a speculative target whenever Toronto starts looking for help on the back end.
Philadelphias angle is part of what makes the idea interesting, because the Flyers appear more open to players who can help them sooner rather than a package built around draft capital. Ristolainen is on injured reserve but is close to returning, and with no trade protection and free agency looming this summer, his situation gives Toronto another familiar deadline-style dilemma to weigh as it looks for defense without paying too steep a price. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Blue-Line Need Makes One Dream Trade Worth Watching
Torontos blue line remains one of the clearest talking points around the club, and that is what makes the Roman Josi discussion so easy to imagine. If the Maple Leafs are looking for a true difference-maker on defense, the Nashville veteran would sit near the top of the wish list, the kind of player who could reshape the back end and change how the group is built around its top pieces.
The catch is obvious: this kind of move does not exist in a vacuum, and the path to even getting in the conversation would depend on Nashvilles season going off the rails. If the Predators keep sliding and start considering bigger roster changes, Toronto would have to decide how far it is willing to go, with a serious pursuit likely costing a major asset such as Ben Danford or Easton Cowan. For now, it is the sort of trade rumor that says as much about the Leafs need as it does about how rare the solution might be. [Read more 🡒]