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

[Nemesis Prime]

He's the best player in the world and should show it again in the playoffs. But he isn't ahead of his contemporaries enough to justify how some around here include him in the same breath as Lemieux, Gretzky, Orr, Howe, etc.

No, he is.

 

[BKarchitect]

Yeah even the best have weeks, months or even entire seasons where their peers have a more impressive run.

That McDavid is seemingly “blah” for himself at the moment and the Oilers are still winning would be pretty encouraging if I’m an Edmonton fan.

And let’s be honest…McDavid is never more than a couple good weeks from being seemingly untouchable. He could easily reel off 25 points in his next dozen games and suddenly look like the obvious choice for all the trophies.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

I honestly think that he has some health problems going on and this goes back to last season too. The question becomes are they temporary ones or will they stick? If they'll stick with him then maybe we've already seen the best that he has to offer which would really suck.

 

[22FUTON9]

Aaaaand here we go with the injury excuses again… we all know he’s the best, why not give credit to other players that are catching up, rather than create a false narrative?

The guy just had his best playoff run and one of his best offensive seasons last year. The Oilers and McDavid would be the worlds biggest idiots if he was injured and playing right now. Doesn’t make any sense, especially considering how close they were last season.

IMO probably has to do with the Oilers having better depth. Happened with Colorado too, the top guy’s numbers are bound to go down when the team has more depth, because they’re not relied on to do everything.

 

[Frosty415]

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.

Oh it's this insecure guy again.

 

[Cloned]

As an Oilers fan I’m gonna say his offensive game has probably peaked. His all around game continues to improve though and he doesn’t even seem to enjoy scoring anymore so at this point I think he cares more about winning than anything else.

 

[Kamus]

Even the coach is worried about McDavid and has stapled two top 5on5 producers like RNH and Connor Brown on his wings to see if they can get Connor McDavid going…. He decided on the nuclear option.

 

[brentashton]

Be very worried if he grows a moustache.

Which player?

As an Oilers fan I’m gonna say his offensive game has probably peaked. His all around game continues to improve though and he doesn’t even seem to enjoy scoring anymore so at this point I think he cares more about winning than anything else.

Well said Cloned.

For those watching him closely, game after game, this is the more accurate scenario. But of course it isn’t sexy or provocative to say this.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Honestly since he came back from like 25 points behind and took over the scoring lead around game 65 last year (albeit for like 4 hours), I get the feeling McDavid's completely lost interest in the regular season.

Which makes some degree of sense, as the two years he went supernova in the regular season (100+ in 56 and chasing Yzerman's 155) were probably his most disappointing playoffs.

Contrast that to last year, where he dialled it back during the end of the regular season and then exploded in the playoffs, or 2021-22 where the team really only clicked down the stretch after Kane joined. In both those seasons, he still had gas in the tank for a strong kick during the playoffs.


I think what's scarier is a McDavid that's very deliberately running at a marathoner's jogging pace is still within striking of the league lead.

 

[Oilslick941611]

Aaaaand here we go with the injury excuses again… we all know he’s the best, why not give credit to other players that are catching up, rather than create a false narrative?

The guy just had his best playoff run and one of his best offensive seasons last year. The Oilers and McDavid would be the worlds biggest idiots if he was injured and playing right now. Doesn’t make any sense, especially considering how close they were last season.

IMO probably has to do with the Oilers having better depth. Happened with Colorado too, the top guy’s numbers are bound to go down when the team has more depth, because they’re not relied on to do everything.

It’s not an excuse. We aren’t excusing any bad play. Just watch the games and you’ll see what are talking about. We talking about McDavid sucking because of injuries we are talking about him losing his explosiveness and not shooting the puck which clearly show something is up with them. He’s still near the top of the scoring race with these issues. McDavid hasn’t shot the puck at all the last two seasons and turned into a pass first player. There’s a reason for that.

 

[Jordan Belfort]

It's surprising that coming off his peak season, McDavid has been outplayed by several other forwards over the past two years, most of whom are older than him.


At this point, I'd be very surprised to see it happen. Would be great for the Oilers and for hockey in general to have McDavid snatch the crown back, but I would be surprised.

People keep saying this and it never happens (the “come back” / exploding in points).

It happened the one year but other than that he’s been consistently out scored

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

This year and last year it happened all the time.

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

one of many great players now at 28 years old

 

[TheNumber4]

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

Why that tweet is just McDavid trolling Matthews. A long held tradition of passionate Oilers fans.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Two games? Big deal….


OH, two CONSECUTIVE games!? Now you’re on to something

 

[Pip]

The loss of his goal scoring ability is very noticeable. Going from 60 down to being a 30 goal scorer and he takes a lot less shots nowadays. He’s so good that he’s still incredible regardless but he’s just not the same dual threat that he was. Hope he can regain that form.

 

[Maverick41]

Zeros this season for the top 6 in scoring (if I counted correctly):

Kucherov - 6
Draisaitl - 8
McDavid - 8
McKinnon - 8
Marner - 10
Rantanen - 10

 

[AirGut]

He's not gonna leave in 2026 right? RIGHT?

 

[DitchMarner]

Meh... two games without a point - not the end of the world. Kucherov's gone two games without a point as well. It happens.

I don't think McDavid has lost a step. I watched the Oilers/Kraken game on CBC and he was dangerous all night. He had multiple scoring chances himself and created some as well.

It's going to be a good race between him and MacKinnon for the Ross this year and Kucherov and/or Draisaitl may be a factor as well.

 

[BKarchitect]

Zeros this season for the top 6 in scoring (if I counted correctly):

Kucherov - 6
Draisaitl - 8
McDavid - 8
McKinnon - 8
Marner - 10
Rantanen - 10

Yeah there’s some hilarious overreaction by a poster or two here. He’s 4th in points per game and one good week could put him back in first and yet here we are having a full blown discussion about McDavid not being McDavid literally less than a year after he had an absolutely epic post-season run where he dragged his team to within a couple periods of a Cup.

He’s not gonna win the Hart every season. Big deal.

 

[Jordan Belfort]

Zeros this season for the top 6 in scoring (if I counted correctly):

Kucherov - 6
Draisaitl - 8
McDavid - 8
McKinnon - 8
Marner - 10
Rantanen - 10

Adds to my argument.

Thank you for posting

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

It’s a fun thought to think of who was the best player on any given night- I’d argue Knies was the best in the world for one night and one night only.

Ok, now expand that to 5 games. Who made the biggest impact over those 5 games? Usually it’s probably McDavid, but it could be Makar. Hughes 1 or 2. Mac or Drai.

Same with 20 games, half a season, etc. McD is the best until someone proves otherwise and that takes time, but I like the thought that any NHLer could prove himself the best for a brief stint. Hell, even a shift, if you wanna get micro with it.

 

[kugelbahn]

It is hard for a 35 goals scorer (McDs pace over last 123 games, 1.5 seasons) to compete for Ross.
It means minimum of 100 assists nowadays.

Last season he played injured and scored 32, this season's pace of 33 goals means he is not 100% as well.

 

[tabness]

This is a long winded way of saying you failed in your quest to get a selfie with Buoy. Respect the hustle though!

Yes I recently learned that that's the name of the hippy looking thing that looks like it sells drugs to schoolchildren.

 

[Video Nasty]

Zeros this season for the top 6 in scoring (if I counted correctly):

Kucherov - 6
Draisaitl - 8
McDavid - 8
McKinnon - 8
Marner - 10
Rantanen - 10

And one of McDavid’s zeroes was a game he played 37 seconds of.

The absolute riot of it all is that this thread was created because he had back to back pointless games, directly after a 12 game point streak where he had 23 points, and 44 points in 24 games dating back to his return from injury.

He may not be as automatic as Gretzky and Lemieux in scoring points, but he sure seems to inspire the same sky is falling attitude on those rare occasions he goes more than a game without a point.

 

[Nostradumbass]

How many threads have been started when MacKinnon or Kucherov go pointless for 2 straight games?

McDavid is still the undisputed best player in the league and this thread just further confirms it.