A lull in McDavid's reign — is he off the pedestal?

[GrumpyKoala]

Yea he's clearly the best of his era but Lemieux or Gretzky would be lapping the field. Would never lose to Kucherov, MacKinnon, or Draisaitl. It's not going to be a big 5.

And his 100 assists or 64 goals don't look quite as special when Kucherov also hit 100 assists, Matthews hit 69 goals, and MacKinnon is on pace for 105 assists this year.

And then there's the 0 cups ten years in that's still looming in the background.

We get it. You posted the same exact analysis in like 25 different post by now.

 

[BallardEra]

Is this his "grace period" phase now?

 

[daver]

Also, McDavid as a goal scorer is an interesting case and will be cool to debate over once he hangs 'em up. He's shown he can be the best for a sustained period when he puts his mind to it. Even still, his CV barely puts him above Crosby as a goal scorer. In terms of outscoring the field in goals and assists, I don't think he's going to replicate his peak season. Granted, he was out of the lineup for three games but that's not quite enough to put an asterisk on this season IMO.

Two Rockets

2nd in Goals and 3rd in GPG (among Top 10 scorers) during his era

15 goal playoff run, 3rd in playoff goals, 3rd in GPG (among Top 10 scorers)

vs.

One Rocket

5th in goals and 5th in GPG (among Top 10 scorers) during his era

10 goal playoff run, 12th in playoff goals, 4th in GPG (among Top 12 scorers)

 

[LevelingSolo]

For whatever reason he’s not shooting like he used too

 

[Edgelord]

Is this his "grace period" phase now?

I figure he is dealing with a minor injury or maybe something outside of hockey. Did he and his wife recently have a baby? is she pregnant?, is one of his parents sick? Any 1 of those will affect a player as much if not more than a minor injury.

 

[daver]

If he is worried about anything other than trying to win a Cup at this point he is doing it wrong.

Draisaitl and Mac can certainly boost their resume with a Ross/Hart/Rocket but McDavid doesn't move the needle much with another regular season accolade.

If he keeps at the level in the playoffs as he had in the last three seasons, any talk of him being caught is just talk.

If MacKinnon has a great playoff after beating McDavid again in the regular season, that discussion gets very interesting.

 

[dalewood12]

Connor McDavid's been shut down in two consecutive games

But seriously, when was the last time McDavid went two games without a point?

 

[TheDoldrums]

he's distracted, too busy fooling around with his good friend, training partner and future teammate on an exciting new ad campaign

 

[Kcoyote3]

I once saw Bryan Rust get two points in a game while Crosby had none. I really started to question who was the better player and it still haunts me to this day. A real lull in Crosby’s reign if you will

 

[LaCarriere]

The difference between 1.51 and 1.50 isn't even a point over the course of a season. 123 vs. 123.8.

The bigger question is do we see the greatest player of his generation try free agency if the Oilers don't win a cup after next year. I don't see him going his whole career and not winning a cup.

The thought of him going to the leafs on a discount scares me, because I don't know how even the most incompetent GM/ownership group doesn't win with McDavid/Matthews, but is happened so far with McDavid/drai in Edmonton, so anything is possible I guess.

 

[daver]

he's distracted, too busy fooling around with his good friend, training partner and future teammate on an exciting new ad campaign

Be very worried if he grows a moustache.

 

[JPT]

he's distracted, too busy fooling around with his good friend, training partner and future teammate on an exciting new ad campaign

I really don't think the Oilers have the room or need for Matthews, though, and they aren't on the same national team...

 

[Old Boys Club]

Was at the game in Climate Pledge this evening, got seats just five rows behind the Oilers bench (think Kraken fans were outnumbered by Oilers fans in this section, not a surprise in this town which always sees so many of the opposing team jerseys, I of course don't care much for the Kraken neither so I wore neutral colors)

McDavid didn't have a great game at all, think only once I saw him do the typical gain speed through the neutral zone but he lost the puck as soon as he gained the zone, also one one play he whined a ton about being high sticked or hit in the face (didn't see him get high sticked personally) going to both referees lol, he seemed frustrated for much of the game

So I spent most of the game enjoying Brandon Tanev's hustle (the poor Seattle bench got a lot of slamming by him), Coffey gesturing Ekholm and Nurse I believe to swap positions on the powerplay which they failed to do that led to the goal against right as it expired (Coffey did
not seem happy with Nurse in particular lol) and being amused by Draisaitl who seemed super pleased with himself getting a nice break with the Seattle D blowing a tire and fistbumped even the trainer after he scored the empty netter but didn't acknowledge the kid just behind me who had a sign asking Draisaitl to score a goal for his birthday, also dude seriously needed to fix his jersey this game, it bothered me as much as his disgusting mouth guard biting

Then again I never was with the way McDavid is put on a pedestal of being the greatest ever or the heir to Gretzky and Lemieux or whatever, he's a player who hands and mind can keep up with his feet at top speed that also gets to play in a powderpuff league catered to these talents, there were others before who didn't get such a fortuitous league context and there are others copying this game now and for the future

I understand the need for contemporaneous zoomer heroes though, given the world is seemingly falling apart otherwise, escapist fantasy is a comforting retreat from reality, it's just the sports equivalent of all the dorky superhero movies in vogue recently

Top tier satire, well done.

It is satire right?

 

[NVious]

He has mentally checked out, he wants to be a Leaf and it's evident, I heard Drai even walked in on him watching...............(God forgive me for saying this) Steve Dangle

 

[Duke74]

he's distracted, too busy fooling around with his good friend, training partner and future teammate on an exciting new ad campaign

That's it! He's busy recruiting Matthews to the Oilers! We do need a 3C...

 

[koyvoo]

I once saw Bryan Rust get two points in a game while Crosby had none. I really started to question who was the better player and it still haunts me to this day. A real lull in Crosby’s reign if you will

Excellent post. This bit of sarcasm sums up the general thought process on this website perfectly.

 

[a mangy Meowth]

Have we not already been discussing this ad nauseum in the MacKinnon thread?

 

[FrozenJagrt]

To me, McDavid is like Ovechkin. I'll never bet against him to do what he does.

In my mind he's already in the top 5 all time.

 

[Video Nasty]

You know you’re dealing with one of the five greatest players to ever step onto the ice when two pointless games sends out a shockwave.

 

[Oilslick941611]

In my opinion he never recovered fully his injury before the heritage classic last year. Since he came back for that game he hasn’t shot the puck with any regularity or force and became a pass only player. He passes almost every 2 on 1 he’s on and passes off great shooting opportunities in the slot. He even passes on the f***ing goal now.

So I am fully convinced he has an injury that affects his play and he is too f***ing proud to sit and get right. It’s not really costing the oilers much, but i do feel we would be higher in the standings if he was shooting.

I also wonder if we’ve seen peak McDavid. As someone who has watched almost every game McDavid has played in the NHL he looks off and not right. I am not saying he’s regressing or is a terrible player because clearly he isn’t but he lost a lot of effectiveness in November 2023 that we haven’t seen since with any consistency. My vote is a lagging torso/hip injury that prevents him from being able to shoot and deke like he used to.

 

[x Tame Impala]

Was at the game in Climate Pledge this evening, got seats just five rows behind the Oilers bench (think Kraken fans were outnumbered by Oilers fans in this section, not a surprise in this town which always sees so many of the opposing team jerseys, I of course don't care much for the Kraken neither so I wore neutral colors)

McDavid didn't have a great game at all, think only once I saw him do the typical gain speed through the neutral zone but he lost the puck as soon as he gained the zone, also one one play he whined a ton about being high sticked or hit in the face (didn't see him get high sticked personally) going to both referees lol, he seemed frustrated for much of the game

So I spent most of the game enjoying Brandon Tanev's hustle (the poor Seattle bench got a lot of slamming by him), Coffey gesturing Ekholm and Nurse I believe to swap positions on the powerplay which they failed to do that led to the goal against right as it expired (Coffey did
not seem happy with Nurse in particular lol) and being amused by Draisaitl who seemed super pleased with himself getting a nice break with the Seattle D blowing a tire and fistbumped even the trainer after he scored the empty netter but didn't acknowledge the kid just behind me who had a sign asking Draisaitl to score a goal for his birthday, also dude seriously needed to fix his jersey this game, it bothered me as much as his disgusting mouth guard biting

Then again I never was with the way McDavid is put on a pedestal of being the greatest ever or the heir to Gretzky and Lemieux or whatever, he's a player who hands and mind can keep up with his feet at top speed that also gets to play in a powderpuff league catered to these talents, there were others before who didn't get such a fortuitous league context and there are others copying this game now and for the future

I understand the need for contemporaneous zoomer heroes though, given the world is seemingly falling apart otherwise, escapist fantasy is a comforting retreat from reality, it's just the sports equivalent of all the dorky superhero movies in vogue recently

You don’t think the exact same can be said for previous generations of players being compared to the players 20-30 years before them?

This always amazes me with older people who have seen more of the world. The more things change the more they stay the same. I’m surprised so many people who have lived for so long don’t grasp that.

20 years from now there will be people saying the players in the 2040’s have it so easy compared to the guys from the 20-teens and 2020’s. It’s absurd. You think you’re making an insightful point but it actually just reflects an ignorance of history and context and your temporary place in time.

 

[Oilslick941611]

he's distracted, too busy fooling around with his good friend, training partner and future teammate on an exciting new ad campaign

At least it’s hockey related and not like that stupid career change McDavid becomes a chef ad he did earlier

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Yeah he’s trash

 

[Crow]

Was esposito also better than crosby?

At his peak he was imo. It’s actually not that close. Unless you are one of those people that believes in crosby’s fantasy projected peak.

 

[Oilslick941611]

You don’t think the exact same can be said for previous generations of players being compared to the players 20-30 years before them?

This always amazes me with older people who have seen more of the world. The more things change the more they stay the same. I’m surprised so many people who have lived for so long don’t grasp that.

20 years from now there will be people saying the players in the 2040’s have it so easy compared to the guys from the 20-teens and 2020’s. It’s absurd. You think you’re making an insightful point but it actually just reflects an ignorance of history and context and your temporary place in time.

Not to mention all the greats ( like every player ever in any sport have bad stretches)

No player plays 100% every game of the season.
I still maintain injury is holding him back and he is too proud to sit out, which is bullshit of course. He can still takes games over though.