My thoughts:
1. McDavid dominates the PP because having one less player on the ice than a McDavid team is a cheat code. You’re toast.
2. If McDavid had a team like MacKinnon has had, McDavid would most certainly have those playoff awards as well.
Just my $0.02 CAD.
There's a video out there with McD and Gretzky. Gretzky makes a comment or asks a question about scoring (it was probably a question based on McDavids response). But McDavid's reply was that scoring is most important because that's how they're judged.
Not only is it telling regarding his lack of buy-in defensively. But it also highlights a dichotomy between US sports fans and Canadian sports fan. And if you didn't already know, McDavids reply makes it obvious he's Canadian. In American sports, team success has become more important than counting stats.
In the NBA, they go by ppg. Practically no one can tell you how many total points the leading scorer had. And the leading scorer is ppg, not total points. So you can miss 13 games and still win the scoring title. And it's also not assumed most points = best player.
The sport where counting stats have mattered most has historically been baseball. But that's been diluted. Possibly it's steroids or possibly its less appealing due to the regularity of 4 hour games. Or maybe it'd OPS supplanting batting average?
In college FB, the Heisman trophy winner has become the QB from one of the best contending teams - not the best or most productive player.
None of this indicts Canadian sports fans or what they prioritize. But I think it affects how one views certain players. And if you ask a lot of American sports fans, McDavid kind of seems like the Rich Harden of the NHL.
It's also probably a simpleton comment to talk about swapping players between the teams. Role modeling is involved and almost always gets over looked. If MacKinnon is more committed to defense, pretty soon the Edmonton players are more committed. If McDavid isn't committed, you can't assume Avs players don't stop embracing a defensive commitment.