What is McDavid's Peak (so far)

[slapKing]

during the last number of seasons, McDavid's level of play has been crazy. but, which stretch of hockey would you consider McDavid to be at his very best?

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[tabness]

most impressed I was with his play was in the 2022 playoffs especially the last three games against LA and the first three games against Calgary which were deserving of all the hype he gets as one of the absolutely best ever, that playoffs his stats looked less than his play, in all the other examples I feel the stats flatter his play

everything else I feel has been pretty overhyped

2023 was a powerplay merchant year and despite his vast lead over everyone that year in stats he couldn't muster even a slim lead in the 5v5 category and the Kucherov and MacKinnon both hit 140 the next year (with less powerplay reliance) although this year he really showed he could score goals a bunch in different ways than the usual chip shot so that was impressive

2024 playoffs was up and down it took him until the Dallas series to be the clear best player on his team and then the Florida series was again up and down

2021 is definitely last, covid asterix north division short year where like he tore up a couple teams playing them so often (so for example Toronto didn't have too much trouble against him) and he sucked in the playoffs vs the Jets

 

[Arthur Morgan]

its too hard to say, his totals have been rising almost every year. he will prob have a down year compared to like last year but next year he very well could break it. look at JT Miller guy broke out in a big way around like age 30. there's no reason to think we have seen the best of McDavid but I would assume the 150+ point season is the one

 

[Coffee]

Peak is yet to come

 

[Romang67]

most impressed I was with his play was in the 2022 playoffs especially the last three games against LA and the first three games against Calgary which were deserving of all the hype he gets as one of the absolutely best ever, that playoffs his stats looked less than his play, in all the other examples I feel the stats flatter his play

everything else I feel has been pretty overhyped

2023 was a powerplay merchant year and despite his vast lead over everyone that year in stats he couldn't muster even a slim lead in the 5v5 category and the Kucherov and MacKinnon both hit 140 the next year (with less powerplay reliance) although this year he really showed he could score goals a bunch in different ways than the usual chip shot so that was impressive

2024 playoffs was up and down it took him until the Dallas series to be the clear best player on his team and then the Florida series was again up and down

2021 is definitely last, covid asterix north division short year where like he tore up a couple teams playing them so often (so for example Toronto didn't have too much trouble against him) and he sucked in the playoffs vs the Jets

This idea that McDavid's 2022/23 season was less impressive because he scored a lot on the PP while having less PP ice time than either MacKinnon or Kucherov did in the 2023/24 is one of the more inconsistent ones I've seen on here. And yet I've seen it twice now.

If MacKinnon or Kucherov were as capable to score on the PP as McDavid was in his 153 point season, they could have cleared 160 points. It wasn't a matter of opportunity. They just couldn't do it.

 

[elmaco]

It's the 2024 playoffs. There's a reason why no losing teams player has won the Smythe in so long.

You can call that a generational achievement, literally.

 

[PuckG]

If scoring on the power play is a bad thing to you or something that makes you diminish a player, then you need to reevaluate your understanding of hockey.

 

[Video Nasty]

If scoring on the power play is a bad thing to you or something that makes you diminish a player, then you need to reevaluate your understanding of hockey.

Meanwhile, the same people still pine for Mario Lemieux.

 

[authentic]

2022 playoffs was the best he ever looked to me, it was him vs. the LA Kings and he won decisively.