McDavid nearing 1000 points at 27 years old

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

I don’t necessarily disagree, I just have a hard time believing a player would be accepted into the pantheon of “top 3 players of all time” with zero cups.

Yes, because you're looking at it from the lense of players who won cups in a 23 teams or fewer league. Guys like Crosby got lucky in their timing and team composition.

Again, you say zero cups, but a guy like Dionne never performed in the playoffs and never got close to a Smythe. Who are the players who have reached 40 points in a playoff run? Only TWO players have had more points than him in a single playoff run, Lemieux and Gretzky. It's not just the Smythe, but the strenght of that Smythe. McDavid also became the second player to reach 20 primary assists in a single playoff run. He had 24. One shy of Gretzky. The next players are all at 18 or lower and that includes Lemieux.

Also, I find it unlikely McDavid ends his career with zero cups.

 

[Quinning]

Seeing Crosby still at a PPG in his late 30's, if you count full seasons at PPG till he's 38, he would be nearing 1900 points.

If he stays healthy, he should get much more than PPG between ages 27 and 33. So to me, it seems injuries is the only major hurdle for him to reach 2000.

We were robbed of Sid's true prime IMO. f*** David Steckel.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Connor McStatpad

 

[missionAvs]

What’s his ceiling if he never wins a cup?

Interesting question honestly. I guess it depends on if you consider a team achievement like a cup to weigh in on this. From my perspective, it's almost more impressive that he has a Conn Smythe WITHOUT a cup lol. I'm not sure as to the answer though. Maybe it knocks him back a spot or 2?

 

[Fitzy]

Top 5 all time already

You have him with Gretz, Orr, Lemieux, and who? Bourque?

 

[Mogo]

And people claimed he wasn't as good as Crosby

How many cups did Crosby have by 27? Points dont mean shit if you cant lead your team to a cup

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

How many cups did Crosby have by 27? Points dont mean shit if you cant lead your team to a cup

Your opinion doesn't mean shit if you can't understand cups are a team accomplishment.

 

[Devilsfan118]

It's definitely different watching a guy so young and in his prime scoring 1,000 points. I still remember watching his draft lottery. Sometimes it's hard to appreciate how great a player is while they are playing so I am glad he still has a lot of good years left.

I'm going to get absolutely flamed for saying this, and that's fine and perhaps deservedly so, but just what a shame it is that he's doing it with Edmonton. If he was in Toronto he'd be One of the biggest stars on the planet.

Could probably say the same thing about if he was playing for the rangers, though selfishly I'm glad that is not the case obviously.

 

[Crazy8oooo]

How many cups did Crosby have by 27? Points dont mean shit if you cant lead your team to a cup

Edmonton would be a shit team if not for McDavid (and Draisaitl). To bring them as far as he has, has been very impressive.

 

[Stauf4Prez]

What’s his ceiling if he never wins a cup?

This argument will be beaten to death, but that's like saying Ovi wouldn't be up there with the greatest goalscorers of all time because he didn't win a cup. It's a stupid argument.

 

[crowfish]

This argument will be beaten to death, but that's like saying Ovi wouldn't be up there with the greatest goalscorers of all time because he didn't win a cup. It's a stupid argument.

My favourite example is Ray Bourque. He was top 5 in Norris voting 13 consecutive seasons... but he wouldn't have been considered an all-time great if he didn't go to Colorado at age 40—such a silly narrative.

When it's all said and done.

McDavid has a legitimate conversation regarding being the greatest hockey player of all time.

I know Gretzky was ahead of his time, but with how much the game has changed, for McDavid to be this far above his peers is absolutely Ludacris.

No one will ever agree on #1. Between Gretzky and Mario. Well, once McDavids career is over.

It'll be a new top 3.

McDavid, Mario or Gretzky.

McDavids floor: Top 5 all-time
McDavids ceiling: Top 1 all-time via the "Gretzky played vs plumbers" argument

I think he will be regarded as the 2nd GOAT when it's all said and done, but hopefully he does enough to make for some fun debates in the future.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

he has only like a couple games to do it quicker in terms of age than Yzerman though

https://thehockeynews.com/news/connor-mcdavids-race-to-1000-nhl-points-is-running-out-of-time

I forgot about Yzerman, although McDavid easily beats both Bossy and Yzerman in terms of adjusted points.

 

[ShootIt]

Knock on wood he stays healthy.

Amazing player

 

[Video Nasty]

Overall, I agree. I wrote with “luck” in mind, but I think I really meant “anything resembling good health.”

That said, I prefer a conservative projection, as most tend to overshoot.

Still, it’s easy to imagine him hitting his 1,600th point by the end of his age 32 season, making him only the 12th player to reach that milestone. For context, if he does, he’ll have done it in about 230 fewer games than Crosby and around 430 fewer games than Ovechkin’s projected target.

In any case, I’m just here to enjoy watching a true generational talent dominate the league like we haven’t seen since Gretzky and Lemieux.

 

[KrisLetAngry]

Looking forward to see his career blossom.

 

[kingsholygrail]

Well now you've done it. A swallow will drop a coconut on his head and end his playing career prematurely.

 

[Skolman]

What’s his ceiling if he never wins a cup?

If only McDavid and his 117 points in 74 playoff games showed up in the playoffs.

 

[BraveCanadian]

He is pretty good at hockey

 

[T REX]

To think at that age, Kucherov only had 547 points lmao. Truly two different breed of players.

WHat does this have to do with Kucherov? Truly?

SMDH. Different breed? Classic hf board stuff.

Looks like he’ll fall a couple of games short of Bossy for third quickest to the mark, but beyond that, only Gretzky and Lemieux will rank higher as he hits 1100, 1200, 1300, and so on. With some luck, he could finish his career joining Gretzky as the only players to cross 2000. It might even be somewhere in the 2200 range, which is beyond even my wildest expectations.

By the time he turns 30 midway through the 2026-2027 season, with solid health and a very conservative projection (aka projections that are far below what he’s been doing for years on end), 100 more points this season, 110 the next, and 45 by mid-season—he’ll already sit 42nd all-time in points in a sport that had nearly a century of history before he stepped on the ice.

A more optimistic projection sees him hitting 1300 points by the time he exits his 20s.

Do you know all the variables involved? Injuries...his game is based on speed. Let's see how he adapts when that starts to decline. This stuff isn't linear. He's the best of this generation hands down. Long, long ways to go to get to the top 5 though.

 

[1989]

What’s his ceiling if he never wins a cup?

Winning cups is a team thing.

He already has a Smythe. That will go a long way in establishing his legacy.

The context of the Smythe matters here (more than most years) because it's not so often new records are established in the playoffs, even though scoring has been trending upwards.

I'm not saying it definitively makes McDavid a top-3 forward all-time, but just acknowledging the context. A Cup or lack thereof just cements his legacy in weird ways.

 

[EdmFlyersfan]

Wild. He'll go down as a top 5 player all time with likely a case to go as high as top 3.

I don't think he will be able to surpass Gretz, Mario or Orr ever, there's a nostalgic perception that'll be near impossible to break.

Even getting ground over Gordie will be a chore in itself.

 

[BB79]

If only McDavid and his 117 points in 74 playoff games showed up in the playoffs.

Well it's a fair question. Mario, Wayne, Bossy, and even Crosby all won multiple cups. That's what he's up against in the eyes of history. It's not to insult him, winning a cup does take a full team and not just an individual, but to be in that top tier of players without one....is different.

I still think he'll win at least 1 before he retires, either in Edmonton or elsewhere like Ray Bourque did.

 

[EdmFlyersfan]

Interesting question honestly. I guess it depends on if you consider a team achievement like a cup to weigh in on this. From my perspective, it's almost more impressive that he has a Conn Smythe WITHOUT a cup lol. I'm not sure as to the answer though. Maybe it knocks him back a spot or 2?

Ron Hextall also has a Conn Smythe without a cup...

Your opinion doesn't mean shit if you can't understand cups are a team accomplishment.

McDavid had a stacked team.

 

[1989]

This argument will be beaten to death, but that's like saying Ovi wouldn't be up there with the greatest goalscorers of all time because he didn't win a cup. It's a stupid argument.

I don't see it that way, at least not entirely.

Being an all-time goalscorer has less weight attached to the idea than being considered for "greatest player of all time" arguments.

If one is to be considered a "greatest" it's expected that they reached the absolute pinnacle in more ways than one (e.g. goal scoring vs points records, Conn Smythes, Lindsays, Harts, Rockets, etc.) so championships do matter in a way.

As I opined earlier, McDavid's Conn Smythe has a little more leverage than most other years, but to be amongst the Hockey Pantheon of Gods there is an expectation - sometimes by the pickiest of hockey nerds and analysts, but mostly by the grander view of casual observers whose perception also shapes the narrative and legacy of humanity's greats.

 

[missionAvs]

Ron Hextall also has a Conn Smythe without a cup...



McDavid had a stacked team.

What does Ron Hextall have to do with Connor McDavid though? The latter has a much more dominant sample size over his peers. McDavid's been ripping through his competition since pretty much his 2nd year in the league.