It's been a tough season for Connor McDavid, at least by his ridiculously high standards. Injuries have seen him missed 14 games over the course of the 2024-25 campaign, in turn contributing towards the Edmonton Oilers not being as high up the Western Conference standings as they would hope for. (Or indeed should be.)
However, since returning from his latest ailment, McDavid as been in excellent form for the Oilers, helping them win all three games he's played in and -- among other things -- contributing nine points and a +8 rating. As a result, as per NHL.com, on Monday he was awarded the Second Star of the Week for the period ending Apr. 13.
McDavid's nine assists over the week in question were the most among all players, while his +8 rating was tied-first. The assists total was particularly important as it helped him become just the fourth player in NHL history to produce five consecutive 70+ assist seasons, joining Bobby Orr with six, Adam Oates with five and of course, Wayne Gretzky with 13.
Futhe to this, McDavid now has seven 70+ assist seasons in total for his NHL career. The only two players with more than him are Gretzky with 16 and Mario Lemieux with eight, meaning the Oilers' superstar center is going to more than likely be at least second-best in this category when it's all said and done.
Connor McDavid has been better than given credit for
What's interesting about McDavid's season is that for some people to claim he hasn't been as good as usual, it really does come down to perspective. In one respect it is fair to say Leon Draisaitl has been the Oilers' best player, with his league-leading 52 goals set to secure his first Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy.
However, you have consider that McDavid has still produced 99 points over 66 games, which pro-rated to 80 games would put him on 120. Doing this would actually have him leading the NHL in overall points and with two regular season games remaining.
Now yes, you can also point out that Nikita Kucherov's league-leading 119 points have been achieved in 76 games, with him missing four games himself. However, the point remains that McDavid has been quite as 'ordinary' as some might think, and keep in mind missing playing time repeatedly through injury means he has to keep returning and getting back up to game speed.
The point in all of this is that McDavid's recent play should serve as a warning to other teams, with him rounding into form just in time for the playoffs. And as much as being without Mattias Ekholm for the first round and potentially longer is a concern it it's own right, would you really bet against number 97, especially when he showed just how special he was during last season's playoffs.
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