Playing within the NHL is not simple, however Connor McDavid makes it look that approach. He is steamrolling the remainder of the league each evening at this level, and he’s on tempo to place up numbers that have not been seen in virtually three a long time.
McDavid, the person who has turned a number of main award races into snooze fests, has set new profession highs in targets (54) and factors (124) with 17 video games remaining within the common season. It’s solely a matter of time till he information his eightieth help to set a brand new profession excessive in that class as nicely.
But it is not nearly McDavid setting new private highs anymore.
He is on monitor to provide one of the best common season of the wage cap period, with 68 targets, 88 assists and 156 factors. If McDavid hits these projections, Nikita Kucherov’s 128-point season in 2018-19 can be the one different one in the identical zip code.
If McDavid does proceed to attain at this eye-popping price, his 156 factors can be the 14th highest-scoring season in NHL historical past. The final time the NHL noticed numbers like that was in 1995-96, when Mario Lemieux tallied 69 targets, 92 factors, and 161 factors en path to successful the Hart Trophy.
Name
Season
Goals
Assists
Points
Wayne Gretzky
1985-86
52
163
215
Wayne Gretzky
1981-82
92
120
212
Wayne Gretzky
1984-85
73
135
208
Wayne Gretzky
1983-84
87
118
205
Mario Lemieux
1988-89
85
114
199
Wayne Gretzky
1982-83
71
125
196
Wayne Gretzky
1986-87
62
121
183
Mario Lemieux
1987-88
70
98
168
Wayne Gretzky
1988-89
54
114
168
Wayne Gretzky
1980-81
55
109
164
Wayne Gretzky
1990-91
41
122
163
Mario Lemieux
1995-96
69
92
161
Mario Lemieux
1992-93
69
91
160
Connor McDavid*
2022-23
68
88
156
Steve Yzerman
1988-89
65
90
155
*projected
McDavid has already established himself as one of the best participant within the NHL proper now. That has been the case for a number of years now. The 2022-23 season is the sixth one through which McDavid has eclipsed the 100-point mark, and he tallied 97 factors in 64 video games within the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 marketing campaign.
The bar was already astronomically excessive for McDavid coming into the season, however he has surpassed it with ease anyway. The distinction is that McDavid has advanced his recreation to develop into the sport’s finest goal-scorer, along with being an elite distributor.
With 20% of the season nonetheless remaining, McDavid has smashed his earlier profession excessive in targets (44) and is dominating the Rocket Richard Trophy race. David Pastrnak, who’s having a ridiculous season in his personal proper, remains to be 10 tallies behind McDavid in second place.
This might not come as a lot of a shock, however McDavid has at all times lit the lamp at a excessive price. Since the 2016-17 season, McDavid has scored at the very least 30 targets yearly, and he has scored at the very least 40 targets 4 instances. Even on a per-shot foundation, McDavid has discovered the again of the online regularly with a profession taking pictures share of 15.6%.
What has made McDavid’s 2022-23 season so particular is that he has put an emphasis on pulling the set off extra usually. Take a have a look at McDavid’s shot totals all through his profession.
2015-16: 105 photographs (2.33 photographs per recreation)2016-17: 251 photographs (3.06 photographs per recreation)2017-18: 274 photographs (3.34 photographs per recreation)2018-19: 240 photographs (3.08 photographs per recreation)2019-20: 212 photographs (3.13 photographs per recreation)2020-21: 200 photographs (3.57 photographs per recreation)2021-22: 314 photographs (3.93 photographs per recreation)2022-23: 288 photographs (4.43 photographs per recreation)
In the final couple of seasons, McDavid has been extra keen to let photographs fly, however he has actually taken that to a different stage this 12 months. Perhaps essentially the most spectacular a part of all of that is that McDavid’s newfound love of shot amount hasn’t affected his shot high quality.
McDavid remains to be getting high-quality possibilities from the center of the slot and straight in entrance of the online, and his taking pictures share is definitely a profession excessive 18.8%. While some small a part of this scoring binge is because of taking pictures luck, it is no shock that when one of the best participant on this planet takes extra high quality photographs, he scores extra usually.
Due to his latest uptick in taking pictures — and scoring — McDavid might want to deliver an additional suitcase to the NHL awards in June. He will take house the Hart Trophy and the Art Ross Trophy, whereas additionally capturing his first Rocket Richard Trophy because the league’s main goal-scorer.
The solely factor that might make this season even sweeter for McDavid is bringing the Stanley Cup house to Edmonton, and if he continues to play like this, there isn’t any purpose the Oilers cannot cling their first banner since 1990.
