McDavid becomes the 4th fastest player to reach 1000 points.

[Fourier]

Gretzky was on his last legs and retired at 38, Lemieux tried to pull it off but couldn't and retired mid-season. Yzerman rested over the lockout to return for one more year, playing 12 minutes a night while taking games off behind a 35-year-old Robert Lang in the depth chart. Sakic didn't recover from early season injuries at 39 etc. Only a small handful of players have mastered playing past 40 and not many current players will join that club.

Athletes today have an immense advantage in maintaining longevity because of the way they train and the way they mange their bodies. Guy Lafleur for example was a chain smoker. Players in the 80's and early 90's did very little out of season training. It is no guarantee that McDavid plays even into his late 30's but I think the odds he will are much greater than for past generations.

 

[ijuka]

A bit surprised McDavid was slower than Bossy. I know Bossy was great and all, but I've never thought of him as a monster point-getter, but more of a goal-scorer.

Then again, I guess he's had a bit of a cold streak to start the season. He's not even in top 10 for points per game this year.

Most skilled player ever IMO. No offense to the 80s guys, but it's much harder to score against today's D and goaltending.

Gretzky was more about being smart, not so much about being skilled.

He was skilled, of course, but when you look at McDavid and him, it's pretty obvious McDavid has more physical skill.

Still, I don't think that McDavid is smart in the same way Gretzky was. I'd say that Kucherov is more of that type.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

I'm starting to feel pretty good about my "controversial" prospects takes on McDavid

This was in 2012:

He still has a long way to go, but he does have the potential to be a better offensive player than Crosby, but he will need to get bigger and stronger....

I'd say a ceiling for his scoring would be around 130 points in today's NHL

FYI, 130 points in 2012 roughly equates to 152 points today.

During his 66 point 15 year old OHL season, I predicted he'd score 110+ as a 16 year old (he had 99 in 56gp = 120 point 68 game pace)

After his 16 year old season, I predicted he could score at a 2.5+ ppg pace (he finished with 2.55 ppg).

And in 2013:

In terms of potential, McDavid could be better than 87 offensively

In terms of puck skills and speed, Mcdavid is superior [to Crosby] at the same age.

These were pretty controversial at the time, as McDavid still hadn't even led his junior team in scoring yet, while Sid was back to back CHL player of the year at the same age. It's not very often you see generational prospects arguably exceed expectations.

Unrelated, but @nbwingsfan has some serious crow to eat for his posts in the last few pages of that thread, especially after telling me that because he had a job in junior hockey he knew better than me. Oof.

 

[TMLeafer]

Great milestone, at this pace. Congrats to McDavid!

 

[jigglysquishy]

4th maybe. McJesus is insane, but not quite as dominant as Gretzky, Lemieux and Orr.

Or Howe

 

[Video Nasty]

In his four games before the injury he had 4 points. In his four games after the injury he has 9. He was also suppose to be out 2-3 weeks but came back in 9 days. The Oilers are obviously giving him something. If it steroids, stem cells or something else, who knows, but it is something.

Generational healing.

 

[FrozenJagrt]

I'm starting to feel pretty good about my "controversial" prospects takes on McDavid

This was in 2012:



FYI, 130 points in 2012 roughly equates to 152 points today.

During his 66 point 15 year old OHL season, I predicted he'd score 110+ as a 16 year old (he had 99 in 56gp = 120 point 68 game pace)

After his 16 year old season, I predicted he could score at a 2.5+ ppg pace (he finished with 2.55 ppg).

And in 2013:




These were pretty controversial at the time, as McDavid still hadn't even led his junior team in scoring yet, while Sid was back to back CHL player of the year at the same age. It's not very often you see generational prospects arguably exceed expectations.

Unrelated, but @nbwingsfan has some serious crow to eat for his posts in the last few pages of that thread, especially after telling me that because he had a job in junior hockey he knew better than me. Oof.

And I thought you were insane back then.

 

[hamzarocks]

I'm starting to feel pretty good about my "controversial" prospects takes on McDavid

This was in 2012:



FYI, 130 points in 2012 roughly equates to 152 points today.

During his 66 point 15 year old OHL season, I predicted he'd score 110+ as a 16 year old (he had 99 in 56gp = 120 point 68 game pace)

After his 16 year old season, I predicted he could score at a 2.5+ ppg pace (he finished with 2.55 ppg).

And in 2013:




These were pretty controversial at the time, as McDavid still hadn't even led his junior team in scoring yet, while Sid was back to back CHL player of the year at the same age. It's not very often you see generational prospects arguably exceed expectations.

Unrelated, but @nbwingsfan has some serious crow to eat for his posts in the last few pages of that thread, especially after telling me that because he had a job in junior hockey he knew better than me. Oof.

So you were right about Mcdavid and closer to right on Bedard than most here (still think you said he will be a great player just not Mcdavod level)

What is your opinion on Landon Dupont? Will he become Dupoint at the NHL level?

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

The very best players tend to hold up until 40. Ovechkin will be 40 next year. Crosby will play at 40 if he wants to. Jagr as you said was still productive after 40. Selanne was 8th in league scoring at 40 and put up 197 points after turning 40. Howe played well into his 40s. McDavid will play into his 40s too, especially if he wants that cup bad enough.

You are truly good at what you do

 

[lokomotiv15]

Most skilled player ever IMO. No offense to the 80s guys, but it's much harder to score against today's D and goaltending.

It was a lot harder than in the 80s to score on goalies from 2011-12ish until 2019 when they did the huge goalie equipment over-haul. Definitely still harder now, but McDavid has had the luxury of playing out his prime in a league where scoring is easier than it was a decade ago. Guys like Sid and Ovi definitely benefitting from closing out their careers as scoring increases, as well. 2020's good for a lot of guys legacies.

 

[ES]

2000+ career points is a very good possibility.

1963 points is the milestone I'm more interested. Gretzky would have no longer the honor of having more assists than anyone else points.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

Damn that's pretty sick. but it's insane that Gretzky did it in 424 games

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

So you were right about Mcdavid and closer to right on Bedard than most here (still think you said he will be a great player just not Mcdavod level)

What is your opinion on Landon Dupont? Will he become Dupoint at the NHL level?

He seems like he has the potential to be the second coming of Joe Sakic to me. Should be a great player but not a Crosby/McDavid tier.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

1963 points is the milestone I'm more interested. Gretzky would have no longer the honor of having more assists than anyone else points.

it's so crazy that still stands

 

[tarheelhockey]

I never really like this line of logic because that can just mean you played in a much shittier era honestly.

Like Wilt Chamberlain scored 50 ppg in 1960s basketball too (this would be like a hockey player scoring like 250 points in a season), but then again he was like only one of two 7 footers in the entire NBA at that time. Today many teams have two sometimes on just one roster.

Wilt’s an interesting choice of example. Objectively, he was stronger and faster than any 7 footer before or since. He was on that LeBron, Wemby, Zion level of athletic freak.

Orr was the same kind of animal. His blueline-to-blueline speed has been clocked on game film as being just as fast as your Bure or McDavid level speedsters. He was doing that carrying equipment weighing multiples of what it does now, and in heavier skates which didn’t give passive assistance. He was actually as good of a skater as whoever else we can name, but some elements of edgework are possible in today’s skates which were not in Orr’s skates.

It should go without saying that Wilt would have been just fine doing modern post moves, Eurosteps, etc. He would still be the superior athlete in every matchup. Likewise, Orr would have gotten every bit of potential of today’s equipment the same way McDavid and Crosby do. We’re talking about the upper 1/10000000th of athletic talent, transcendent figures in the sport, they weren’t going to be confounded by stuff that kids are getting taught in summer camp now.

They would not look out of place but they wouldn't score nearly as much.

NHL goaltending pre-1992 honestly is a bit of a joke so is the defensive coverage, McDavid would have to go play in the ECHL to get a comparable and that probably still wouldn't simulate it fully.

The sport has evolved a lot, especially the goaltending positions and defensive strategy.

It’s true that the sport has evolved defensively, but there are contextual reasons for why it looked the way it did.

Players during that era were skating 2+ minute shifts, which impacts flow on both sides of the puck. There was still a 2-line pass preventing vertical passes. Offside was still under the pre-tagup rules, which reduced the margin of error on zone entries. Sticks were 80-120 flex and heavy, which reduced the speed, elevation, location, and touch not just of shots but also of passes. Shot-blocking was physically dangerous and “business decisions” were a routine part of the game. Old-school helmets (or none at all) made incidents like last night’s Benn/Carlo collision much more dangerous, and therefore more actively avoided. All of that changes the purpose and structure of defensive coverages.

Putting that all together, the idea that a player would jump off the bench and sprint full-blast to receive a saucer pass from blue line to blue line, then snap an 80mph shot bar-down with no windup, and that the defense and goalie would be structured to expect this, is all a modern construct. In earlier eras that play would not be plausible for a variety of reasons. Defenses and goaltending of those eras were tuned to prevent goals which were plausible at that time.

Which brings it all back to… if it were actually easier to be a high-scoring hockey superstar then, more guys would have done it. NHL teams in 1972 scored 3.07 goals per game. NHL teams in 2024 score 3.12 goals per game. Save percentage was .903 then, .900 now. The “ease” of goal scoring has not changed. The existence of a 100+ point defenseman in the league has not changed. The existence of a player who can flat-out dust the rest of the league has not changed. Fundamental athleticism has not changed. The difference is simply the progression of an arms race in technologies, which has led to an evolution in techniques and tactics. Those changes in context are interesting to follow, and they have led to objective changes in speed/force/spatial positioning, but they do not make a performance from one era inherently “better” the other.

 

[5 14 6 1]

Truly blessed as an Oiler fan to watch this guy every night. Special, special player. One of the greatest to ever do it.

 

[John Mandalorian]

Congrats to Oilers fans. It’s a nice accomplishment. I’m wondering how Oilers fans would rank the following:

A. Being the fourth fastest to reach 1,000 points

B. Having 153 points in 2023

C. Reaching 100 points in the covid shortened season

 

[CDN24]

Damn that's pretty sick. but it's insane that Gretzky did it in 424 games

Gretzky scored is next 1000 in 433 Games. So Gretzky's 1st 1000 are no one on the list but his 2nd 1000 are no 2

 

[Mulletman]

McDavid actually leads the Oilers in scoring all the way back to 1983-84: NHL Stats

 

[authentic]

Or Howe

Was dominating the early 50s NHL the same thing though?

 

[Zerotonine]

So you were right about Mcdavid and closer to right on Bedard than most here (still think you said he will be a great player just not Mcdavod level)

What is your opinion on Landon Dupont? Will he become Dupoint at the NHL level?

I don't think anyone was really thinking Bedard was gonna be mcdavid level were they??

I said from the start Bedard will be matthews type levek star myself

Damn that's pretty sick. but it's insane that Gretzky did it in 424 games

Someone else pointed out he racked up his 2nd 1000 points in like 450 ish games or something stupid

So he basically holds the top spots i guess for race to 1,000 points

 

[Daximus]

I think McDavid is certainly cementing himself on that Mount Rushmore of a hockey. It's pretty well established that there are 4 players who stand alone at the top of the game. Gretz, Lemieux, Orr and Howe. They were all pretty dominant players in their eras and they all transformed the game around them, He's likely going to make it a top 5 when all is said and done. Just based on hardware alone.

Gretz - 10 Ross, 5 Rocket, 9 Hart, 5 Pearson, 2 Smythe, 8 First All Star, 7 Second All Star, 4 Cups

Lemieux - 6 Ross, 3 Rocket, 3 Hart, 4 Pearson, 2 Smythe, 5 First All Star, 4 Second All Star, 2 Cups

Orr - 2 Ross, 3 Hart, 1 Pearson, 2 Smythe, 8 Norris, 8 First All Star, 1 Second All Star, 2 Cups

Howe - 6 Ross, 5 Rocket, 6 Hart, 12 First All Star, 9 Second All Star, 4 Cups
No Smythe existed during Howe's playing time but he likely wins at least 2 based on stats

McDavid - 5 Ross, 1 Rocket, 3 Hart, 4 Pearson, 1 Smythe, 5 First All Star, 2 Second All Star

He's racking up the points to belong in that conversation in his 28 year old season. Sure he doesn't have a Cup yet and that will be a large knock on him but he's also playing in the hardest era to ever win a Cup. 32 teams in a cap era makes it a damn hard feat to do but he does have a finals appearance and a Smythe to go along with it.

 

[McOilers97]

the crickets in here is astounding.

Everyone was busy spreading the word that the Oilers and McDavid were dead in the water. They don't want to acknowledge how wrong they were.

 

[Neil Racki]

Everyone was busy spreading the word that the Oilers and McDavid were dead in the water. They don't want to acknowledge how wrong they were.

You do know the Oilers are the favorites to win the Cup by everyone from Vegas to experts

But yes .. the mcdavid/drai underdog disrespected narrative must go in (despite being favorites)

 

[Oilslick941611]

Looks like McDavid overtook Stastny for the player highest on the list without a cup...

I guess his career ended last night eh?

Damn that's pretty sick. but it's insane that Gretzky did it in 424 games

Yah. It Gretzky played in an era where slap shots from the high slot routinely beat goalies clean and 3/6 defenseman couldn’t skate backwards properly and players weren’t taught the science of sport and tactics from like age 3.

Different eras for sure. Gretzky was clearly above all in his era just like McDavid is now