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

[Video Nasty]

This year and last year it happened all the time.

Why lie when we can all fact check in less than thirty seconds?

 

[zar]

For sure. Jackson should lock him in right now… just match his current contract (8 x 12.5m)… and McDavid should be very thankful to get that generous contract.

 

[Minnesota Knudsens]

I really dont get the point of this thread....

Some Oilers fans can’t just enjoy McDrai, on account of the fact that some people say that Draisaitl is the lesser player. They need everyone, and I mean everyone, to say both players are equally incredible and bow down to them all the time.

 

[Nostradumbass]

Why lie when we can all fact check in less than thirty seconds?

The internet has given people with a room temperature IQ the opportunity to make their voices heard. They feel that equal opportunity to post means their posts are equally valid, yet they'd get laughed out of a room if they shared those same thoughts in person.

 

[Oilslick941611]

Some Oilers fans can’t just enjoy McDrai, on account of the fact that some people say that Draisaitl is the lesser player. They need everyone, and I mean everyone, to say both players are equally incredible and bow down to them all the time.

Yes. That’s it.

 

[LTIR]

100% agree with OP.
McDavid should extend in Edmonton for 14M x 8

 

[tabness]

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.

I am fully cognizant of the good old nostalgia vs. newer is better dialectic that happens in sports discussions as a result of the futile attempts of incommensurable "all time rankings". We can (at least) go all the way back to Art Coulter being unimpressed with Gordie Howe ("stinko") and Bobby Hull ("slapshot idiot") and whoever else was in post red line rule hockey blah blah blah.

I ask that you a be a bit more charitable in reading what I wrote than simply dismissing it as just another case of the above (I personally do not care about seriously ranking players) though I certainly understand your general reaction here, because there are almost as many boomers (in a broad sense) who are too emotionally invested in the "legacy" of their favorite players, as there are zoomers. Even Art Coulter, though no fan of the "modern" (anything after 1942 lol) did not actually make an attempt to seriously reconcile or rank between the two, he left it incommensurable ("they mean nothing to me and I mean nothing to them").

I will say though, that there seems to be a palpable difference from the milieu today as compared to the past in a couple of important aspects.

We now have an easily available and accessible statistical/award record that facilitates futile and facile comparisons. We've all seen the pages and pages of discussions and quantitive nitpickings which at least help pay the bills at HF given how much ad revenue they must generate.

In fact the statistical/voting record has somewhat enhanced the reputation of the so called "big four" of Howe/Orr/Gretzky/Lemieux (tellingly a construct that I've mostly only seen on HF rather than in the broader hockey world) from when they actually played (I say this with direct familiarity from Lemieux's time, a bit from Gretzky, and as a Wings fan interested in their history, the same inflation definitely happening for Gordie Howe - but only for the few who care, for most Gordie Howe is now straight up being forgotten, as I expect Gretzky and Lemieux will soon be a few generations later). So while back in 1990 you had contemporaneous sources saying that the league had improved massively throughout the eighties and caught up to Gretzky, and listing out players who could be the best far beyond Mario Lemieux, today, the analysis just factors their stats and so on. But then for McDavid to get this treatment, he'll need to dominate the stats in a similar fashion.

The more important point though, is that there seems to be a far greater malaise and today about how the postwar order is working and pessimism about the paradigm of progress which has been powerful post Renaissance leading to young people who quite frankly won't have it as easy as before. Thus you see escapism and the need for heroes (sports or super) at a greater level than before.

I must have a lingering second hand high from hanging out outside the arena after the game a bit to type all this out, I hate Seattle lol

 

[Three On Zero]

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

McDavid as great as he his, his greatest attribute is his speed and ability to accelerate. I don’t think he will age gracefully if he starts to lose his speed. Now it’s nkt a guarantee that happens but it wouldn’t be surprising.

 

[PainForShane]

McDavid as great as he his, his greatest attribute is his speed and ability to accelerate. I don’t think he will age gracefully if he starts to lose his speed. Now it’s nkt a guarantee that happens but it wouldn’t be surprising.

Well, he's a good thinker too. But, I do agree that his speed will come off and when that does, I'm curious to see how he adjusts. The great ones tend to adjust, let's see how his style evolves as he gets older -- I think he'll probably find a way to stay elite for most of his career, we'll see.

Before then, though, hopefully he wins at least one cup. Until then, the noise will get louder and louder like it did with Ovechkin

 

[Stephen]

Off pedestal today and on waivers a few days from now, no doubt.

 

[Three On Zero]

Well, he's a good thinker too. But, I do agree that his speed will come off and when that does, I'm curious to see how he adjusts. The great ones tend to adjust, let's see how his style evolves as he gets older -- I think he'll probably find a way to stay elite for most of his career, we'll see.

Before then, though, hopefully he wins at least one cup. Until then, the noise will get louder and louder like it did with Ovechkin

It’ll be a learning curve for him, he struggles to adjust already when he gets shut down. Although with his elite vision I do believe he can make it work.

 

[Talonted]

Trade him for Miller and Pettersson tomorrow obviously.

 

[MessierII]

McDavid has never had more points in the front half of a season. He’s also at a point where he isn’t gunning for regular season awards anyone. Eye is solely on the big prize and he’ll ramp up for the playoffs like he does every year.

 

[Bouboumaster]

That's it, I'm convinced.

McDavid SUCKS from now on

Trade this good-for-nothing bum to Montréal now, that'll teach him
And for a 7th, just for him to get the memo

 

[PainForShane]

It’ll be a learning curve for him, he struggles to adjust already when he gets shut down. Although with his elite vision I do believe he can make it work.

100% agree. But I think it's also worth mentioning he's shown that he does adjust eventually. Take Gm 7 this year, Panthers completely shut him down until about midway through the third period by stick a forward on him as he was entering the offensive blue line, which meant he couldn't generate speed as he was entering the zone. So then what do you do, one solution is to start accelerating slightly further back, which he finally started doing with maybe 10 minutes left in the game, those last ten minutes he definitely generated offense for his team.

That's a tangent -- anyway my larger point is that he has other skills besides just his speed, in my view his passing, stickhandling, and offensive IQ are elite and likely to remain that way through his career. Even after he loses his acceleration, imo he'll make some adjustments and his other traits are enough that I think he'll keep putting up lots of points, especially if he spends his whole career with Drai as his teammate. But we'll see, you know?

 

[AD1066]

McDavid as great as he his, his greatest attribute is his speed and ability to accelerate. I don’t think he will age gracefully if he starts to lose his speed. Now it’s nkt a guarantee that happens but it wouldn’t be surprising.

I'm curious as well to see how his game ages. Great IQ, incredible hands, take away some foot speed and you get... prime Patrick Kane?

 

[Coffee]

You know he’s the real deal when there’s threads made about him when he goes two games without a point

 

[PainForShane]

You know he’s the real deal when there’s threads made about him when he goes two games without a point

To be fair, there were also threads made after he went two games without a point in games six and seven of this year's SCF. Some were about him, many were not

 

[Schennanigans]

So your assuming he doesn’t go in his usual god mode this year?

 

[crowfish]

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.

He is but you are just not applying the tax for the insane competition level he faces that the other did not. There will never be anyone with a Gretzky or Lemieux-level production gap again. That only happens in the early days when the sport is less evolved. With each passing year, the competition gets better and the gap for possible production gets lower. The next great one after McDavid will need to play against even tougher competition than McDavid.

 

[Video Nasty]

He is but you are just not applying the tax for the insane competition level he faces that the other did not. There will never be anyone with a Gretzky or Lemieux-level production gap again. That only happens in the early days when the sport is less evolved. With each passing year, the competition gets better and the gap for possible production gets lower. The next great one after McDavid will need to play against even tougher competition than McDavid.

The same people give passes to Crosby finishing behind the Benns, Tavares, and Kanes of the world, while pretending his cabinet case was affected by Ovechkin and Malkin (there was a mere one season they were all healthy in their peaks and he lost). They’re not to be taken too seriously.

 

[Cats2TheCup]

Barkov taught McDavid a few things. Here’s one: when you’re great, it’s cringe to compete for regular season scoring titles.

 

[nowhereman]

I agree that he's fallen off and needs a change of scenery. Let's exchange Pettersson for McDavid and the Oilers can cut their losses.

 

[Frosty415]

Adds to my argument.

Thank you for posting

You have no argument

This happened last year and the year before.

 

[Jordan Belfort]

You have no argument

This happened last year and the year before.

I’ll wait for the “27 points in 10 games” while he gets outscored by 4 other players