Sidney Crosby hasn't won an Art Ross trophy after his age 26 season. Neither has McDavid. Will McDavid win more still?

[bobholly39]

McDavid turns 28 today. Neither him nor Crosby have won a Ross beyond age 26. Will McDavid win more?

There's been a ton of McDavid/Crosby comparisons over the years, for obvious reasons. Lots of similarities in terms of caliber of prospects, both had a strong rookie year and then swept awards in year 2, and both have had incredible careers/primes to date.

However - there are also some differences. Crosby had injuries significantly impact his peak years. He was/would have been a contender for the Ross in 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2013 but each year missed significant time. Doesn't mean he for sure wins 4 more Rosses in those years with no injuries, but any sensible person probably agrees that there's a very strong likelihood he has more than 2 Ross totals with no injuries, be it 3, 4, 5 or 6 (personally I'd guess at 5).

And then - he won the Ross in 2013-2014 at age 26, and never again. He did barely miss out in 2015 again (5 games missed, 3 points behind), and has finished close to first in rankings since then (not necessarily close in point totals), but never actually won. 2013-2014 was his age 26 season.

McDavid is a bit different. Up until age 26, he had 5 rosses. The last one at age 26 was a spectacular season too, leading the league in goals, assists and points, scoring 153 points (most since Lemieux).

In McDavid/Crosby comparisons, McDavid supporters often like to take a dig at Crosby and how he never won an Art Ross beyond age 26.

Well here we are on McDavid's 28th birthday today - and McDavid didn't win one last year at age 27.
And McDavid right now at age 28 and halfway through the season is in 6th place in points, 10 behind the leader.

Crosby after age 26 didn't win another Ross, but he did have 3 spectacular playoff runs at age 28, 29 and 30, winning 2 cups/smythes.
McDavid was spectacular in playoffs at age 27, and there's again high expectations for him this year at age 28 for playoffs.

So.....all this to say. Crosby hasn't won an Art Ross beyond age 26, and almost surely won't win another. Will McDavid win any more art rosses beyond age 26, or will this aspect of his career once again end up resembling Crosby's career more closely than expected?

How many more Art Ross trophies does McDavid win?

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[Frolov 6'3]

No its over.

 

[East Coast Icestyle]

10 points isn't exactly much for a McDavid or any of those top players. I'd just wait and see.

 

[bobholly39]

10 points isn't exactly much for a McDavid or any of those top players. I'd just wait and see.

Oh for sure. In fact gun to my head, if you asked me who the favorite to win the Ross in 2024-2025 as of right now is, I'm not sure I still don't have him #1 - it's close either way, despite the 10 point gap.

But - that's the point of this thread.

Will he actually win? This year, or ever again? Crosby was seen as favorite for a while also beyond age 26, but never won again.

 

[Juxta Position]

Yeah, he's got a couple more in him. The peak point-scoring age for the super-elite players is usually around 21-26 years old, not the 25-30 that, for some reason, is always talked about as NHL players' "prime."

That being said, McDavid is a special player and will absolutely have 1 or 2 more flat out dominating seasons before his points decline a little bit. But, his overall play will increase, much like Crosby's has the back half of his career.

these players that are this good tend to be offensive juggernauts in their early 20's but the defensive game can be lacking. Cheating for offense and whatnot, but i think McDavid is special case and he will win a few more Art Ross's later than typical, as Crosby probably would've if he wasn't so hampered by injuries early in his career.

 

[MacMacandBarbie]

I think probably done as an Art Ross contender. Likely going forward will play less games and remain a PPG leader, as he paces himself throughout the season in a way that sets himself up for the playoffs. Like Crosby at this age, he has accomplished everything he could want in the regular season, and playoff success is the only thing that matters to him.

 

[Toby91ca]

I think McDavid has a better shot than Crosby to win more. Crosby stayed very close for about 5 years, but he also had McDavid coming up....is there a bona fide superstar younger than McDavid that is going to keep him away from winning? MacKinnon, Kucherov, Draisaitl....they are all older than McDavid. McDavid is 10 years younger than Crosby....you saw him coming, you knew he was going to explode....I'm not sure we see anyone just yet with the same confidence of being able to peg them.

 

[amnesiac]

I say 2 more in the next 5 seasons, and then McKenna takes over in Chicago

 

[Crow]

The knock on Crosby to me is that he only won 2 total, don’t really care when he won them. Still a top ten player all time though.

This is a tough poll as McDavid is getting older and might find himself missing some games or struggling through injuries a bit most years. I’m torn between one more and he’s done. Going with one more. McDavid appears to have better competition than Crosby too.

 

[Video Nasty]

Unless he retires after his age 30 season, I think he wins at least two more. I voted for three. Players who achieve a lot of marks with the moniker “only Gretzky and Lemieux have more or are higher” don’t become complete non-factors in scoring races past the age of 29 like Crosby.

 

[eXile3]

Perfectly possible he wins more as long as his supporting cast stays strong and he stays healthy.

 

[waitin425]

McDavid will win at least 3 more. He is that good. Just needs health.

Unfortunately he will win 0 cups though.

I say 2 more in the next 5 seasons, and then McKenna takes over in Chicago

I don't see any one player dominating 5 years from now. I see McDavid winning 3 more.

After that there will be a mix of McKenna, Bedard, Celebrini, Michkov, Demidov competing for it year in and year out.

 

[ManofSteel55]

I think McDavid wins at least 2 more. The biggest reason, is that I don't see any of this next generation of kids (Bedard, Celebrini) reaching the level where they will be able to outscore what McDavid is likely to do over the next few years. His biggest obstacles will continue to be Draisaitl, Mackinnon, and Kucherov.

 

[barry halls]

I think if he really wanted to he could win the next 3 or 4 in a row, but I don't think he's trying to.
Last year he had more average games in the regular season than we'd ever seen, to the point where there was speculation that he was dealing with nagging injuries all year, but then he had a playoff run for the ages. I think he's learned to conserve energy for the playoffs and he only goes full-tilt when the team really needs it.

 

[Byron Bitz]

My guess is McDavid wins 3 more Art Ross trophies

 

[amnesiac]

McDavid will win at least 3 more. He is that good. Just needs health.

Unfortunately he will win 0 cups though.


I don't see any one player dominating 5 years from now. I see McDavid winning 3 more.

After that there will be a mix of McKenna, Bedard, Celebrini, Michkov, Demidov competing for it year in and year out.

probably not, but Id bet on him being the next "McDavid" mixed in with 2 or 3 others similar to what we're seeing now

those others may come in 2028 or later too

 

[Pass the Saitl Sauce]

I mean he’s still 2 years younger than MacKinnon and 4 years younger than Kucherov so I think he’s still winning an art Ross in the future

As an oilers fan Mcdavid isn’t in the same gear he’s shown in the past, not shooting like he used to but he’s still in the race

 

[wetcoast]

I think if he really wanted to he could win the next 3 or 4 in a row, but I don't think he's trying to.
Last year he had more average games in the regular season than we'd ever seen, to the point where there was speculation that he was dealing with nagging injuries all year, but then he had a playoff run for the ages. I think he's learned to conserve energy for the playoffs and he only goes full-tilt when the team really needs it.

There is some of this going on but I still voted for 2 more but I would be very surprised at 3 and it's more likely that he wins zero than winning 3 more IMO.

It will be fun to watch though.

 

[blundluntman]

Mackinnon and Kucherov are his only real competition at the moment and they're both older than him so he's a real threat for the Ross for the very forseeable future. I think he has a good shot at winning at least 2 more in the next 3 or so years. Maybe more if a guy like Bedard doesn't take that next step.

 

[Felidae]

Considering his Art Ross competition the past few years have been older than him, and that no one younger has really contended for the trophy, I do think it's likely he'll win more.

 

[Midnight Judges]

Mackinnon and Kucherov are his only real competition at the moment and they're both older than him so he's a real threat for the Ross for the very forseeable future. I think he has a good shot at winning at least 2 more in the next 3 or so years. Maybe more if a guy like Bedard doesn't take that next step.

You wouldn't include Draisaitl in there?

 

[blundluntman]

You wouldn't include Draisaitl in there?

He actually slipped my mind for some reason but he's also in that group now that you mention him

 

[TheGoldenJet]

McDavid at age 26 (last season) and age 27 (this season) has been much less impressive than in seasons past, especially when healthy.

Let’s see how he does at age 28.

 

[Video Nasty]

McDavid at age 26 (last season) and age 27 (this season) has been much less impressive than in seasons past, especially when healthy.

Let’s see how he does at age 28.

Crazy how some of this stuff is already getting lost.

Last season, despite a nagging upper body injury, he had 112 points over a 56 game stretch (2.0 PPG) after he was rushed back early out of desperation of an Oilers season that was close to implosion. He became just the fourth player to collect 100 assists in a season.
A lower body injury shut him down shortly after, he rested it down the stretch, then he returned to break Gretzky’s playoffs assists record and put up the most points in a playoff run outside of Gretzky and Lemieux while scooping up the Conn Smythe by helping the Oilers almost complete a comeback from 3-0 and losing Game 7 by just a goal.

He didn’t pick up regular season hardware, but that overall effort was insanely impressive. Maybe some of his finest work ever.

Considering he’s actually been overall unhealthy, in terms of missing some games and clearly having lingering effects, he’s been just as impressive overall.

 

[Iggys Dome]

He got 100 assists last season.

He’ll get 2 or 3 more