As an Edmonton Oilers writer and fan, I often find myself expecting Connor McDavid to do amazing things. Sometimes I need to take a step back and think about how lucky I am to get to watch Connor McDavid on a game-to-game basis.
Connor McDavid is having one of the best seasons in a really long time. Since the 1996-97 season, the most points in a single season was Nikita Kucherov in 2018-19 when he got 128 points in 82 games. McDavid currently already has 3 more points than that and he only has played 69 games.
Connor McDavid (1-1—2) scored his 296th career goal and tied Ryan Smyth for sixth place on the @EdmontonOilers’ all-time list.#NHLStats: https://t.co/yGG0q9B7FZ pic.twitter.com/JmN8NW7vHk
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 17, 2023
In the last 30 years, there have only been two other seasons where a player has averaged more points per game when playing at least 40 games than Connor McDavid this season. It was Mario Lemieux in 92-93(2.67P/GP) and 95-96(2.30P/GP). The best any active player has done is Sidney Crosby in the 2010-2011 season where averaged 1.61P/GP, but in that season he only played 41 games.
Connor McDavid Is Now Expected To Get At Least 2 Points Nightly
The craziest thing for Edmonton Oilers fans is we now expect Connor McDavid to get at least 2 points in a game. Even if you watch the Oilers’ games and think to yourself that McDavid is having a slow night you look at the score sheet and see he still got 2 points.
Then there is the other side of things, which is the other 90% of games when Connor McDavid appears to be playing well. When he is in one of those zones it looks like no one will be able to stop him. These are the games where it is crazy to see the things McDavid can do.
The only other player in recent memory I can remember thinking would be almost automatic was Alex Ovechkin. There were a few years where you just expect Ovechkin to score, but the most goals Ovechkin got was 65. McDavid this season is on pace to beat that goal total.
McDavid Makes The Edmonton Oilers Favorites Everynight
Connor McDavid is the best player in the world and when you have him on your team like the Edmonton Oilers do you can win any game, any night. This is why we shouldn’t be surprised if the Edmonton Oilers go deep in the playoffs.
The fact that he now has a good cast of players around him makes this season’s Edmonton Oilers a scary team to face. I am looking forward to watching this team and Connor McDavid go far into the playoffs, Hopefully, both continue to do things we haven’t seen in Edmonton since the days of Wayne Gretzky.