Last Year

Connor McDavid is the most prolific player in hockey these days. Arguably the best player to hit the ice since Wayne Gretzky was lacing up the boots flying around the ice. Last year McDavid put to bed any notion that there could be a better player in the world. He finished the season with 64 Goals, 89 Assists, and 153 Points in 82 Games Played. Astounding! No player has hit the 150 point threshold since Mario Lemieux in the 1995/96 season. McDavid also became only the 5th player in NHL history to score 150, others include Phil Esposito, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, and Bernie Nicholls.

McDavid also set the record for the most points in the salary cap era, the previous record holder Nikita Kucherov scored 128 points in the 2018/19 season. McDavid blew past that mark in March of last season, continuing on, leaving the Salary cap era record at 153 points, 25 more points than Kucherov.

Last season McDavid won the scoring title by that same 25 points over teammate Leon Draisaitl (who would’ve tied Kucherov’s record), and won by a whopping 40 points over 3rd place David Pastrnak (Boston) and Nikita Kucherov (Tampa) who tied with 113 points.

Playoffs

McDavid also led his team to the second round of the playoffs last year, scoring 10 points in 6 games against the LA Kings in the first round, but eventually falling to the Vegas Golden Knights in round 2. He scored 10 points in 6 games against the Golden Knights as well. For a playoff total of 20 points in 12 games, 1.66 p/g.

Connor and the rest of the team seemed quite upset about their playoff exit. more dissatisfied than when they lost to the Colorado Avalanche in the Conference Final the year prior. I expect he comes back with a hunger to dominate the regular season and lead the Oilers to a division title and more favourable playoff match ups.

This Year

What to expect from Connor McDavid this year? Can we expect another 150 point season? only two players in NHL history have more than one 150 point season, arguably the two greatest players of all time (Gretzky and Lemieux).

We know Connor is all world at scoring, won his first Rocket Richard trophy last year for being the leagues top goal scorer, he won the Art Ross, Ted Lindsay, and Hart Trophy’s again. The only thing missing from his resume is a Stanley Cup (and maybe a Conn Smythe (Playoff MVP) to go with it).

So the debate will narrow down to, will the Oilers continue to score at will again and outscore their issues? Or Does McDavid do as he seems to every year and add another deadly weapon to his arsenal. This weapon being defense. I don’t think he’s bad at defending but maybe he will sacrifice some scoring opportunity this year to make sure he’s responsible on the defensive side of the puck and help his team achieve a better record than they did last year.

Will the powerplay continue to click at historic levels? I think it might, they have the same man power coming back, plus a healthy Evander Kane. Can Connor Brown help the top two lines with even strength scoring? Will the combo of a healthy Kane, and Brown be able to finish more often than Puljujarvi and Yamamoto did last season? The Oilers have more firepower this year upfront, combine that with McDavid’s desire to win, I wouldn’t be surprised if he surpasses the 150 point mark for the 2nd time in his career.

There are many points that have been considered, and McDavid is in the prime of his career right now. So my projection for Connor McDavid in the 2023/24 season is 60-92-152 in 80 GP.

Connor will be motivated this year, he wants to win, he wants to be on top, he will score the Oilers all the way there. and as an added bonus for himself he currently sits at 850 points for his career. If he scores 150 again, he’ll reach the 1000 point club. Do able? yes. Likely? We’ll see. Should we bet against McDavid? He’ll make you look like a fool.