Edmonton Oilers fans have been blessed to watch Connor McDavid dominate the National Hockey League since he entered the league in 2015-16.
We are now six games into his 12th season in the best league in the world and he continues to shock and awe. While most players start to decline as they enter their thirties, McDavid proved last season that he had no plans to follow suit.
He finished the year with the second best point totals of his career, scoring 48 goals and 90 assists for 138 points. His dominance helped him capture his fifth Ted Lindsay Award along with the sixth Art Ross Trophy of his career.
This season, he has began the year with four goals and 13 assists for 17 points in just six games, after a four point effort that saw him pot one goal and three assists against the Oilers' Pacific Division rival Los Angele Kings.
This total puts him on a full 84-game pace for a whopping 238 points. If he were to hit this mark, it would be the first time an NHL player has surpassed the 200 point mark in an NHL season since 1985-86 when Wayne Gretzky scored 52 goals and 163 assists for 215 points.
McDavid continues his dominance
Over a decade into his NHL career, McDavid has continued to raise the bar for himself and as such, the Oilers. He has kept in top form throughout his career, being on pace for 100 or more points in each season of his career aside from his rookie year. Taking it a step further, he has been on pace for 120 points or more for nine straight seasons.
Although last year was itself a lost season seeing as the Oilers fell from back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals appearances to losing in the first round at the hand of the Anaheim Ducks. McDavid was able to have a great individual year and it cannot be denied that he gave the Oilers a chance to win, despite the struggles that the club faced throughout the entire season.
The Oilers have faced criticisms for relying too heavily on their stars like McDavid or Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard, they do need them to play at their best if they hope to do damage in the postseason. However, the team also needs contributions from their depth in order to help carry them through a gruelling run and so far this season, they have seen some great play out of them.
McDavid may be on pace for a season that would rival those of Gretzky or Mario Lemieux and that may be placing the bar too high but it seems likely that he has yet another jaw dropping season when all is said and done. He can thank his supporting cast for some of the help but he has been a real treat to watch as a once in a generation talent, a label he absolutely deserves.
He is a player and captain that fans of the Oilers and fans of the NHL alike should not take for granted.
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