Could McDavid surpass Crosby all-time (in your eyes) if he does not win a Cup?

[WarriorofTime]

Connor McDavid has not won a Stanley Cup since being drafted by the Edmonton Oilers. He performed very well in the 2022 postseason and helped his team reach the Conference Finals but they were swept by the Avalanche. Obviously he looks to have a long career ahead of him, and Crosby himself is not done, but just speculating on how high he can realistically climb if he never achieves the team success of a Stanley Cup.

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[Mrb1p]

Yes he could, thats dumb.

Hes unlikely to have the longevity to match Crosby I think. Hes too reliant on explosion to be a 100 points player at 35 like Crosby is. He would need to make his team much better right now to surpass Sid. He hasnt done thst to me.

 

[JackSlater]

Sure he could. He's ahead at this point in their careers, but Crosby has aged well since getting healthy post-2012.

 

[x Tame Impala]

Eh maybe. Points aren't everything. If Crosby has another 3 seasons scoring 80+ points (which i think is reasonable) he'll pass Joe Sakic for 9th all time in points. McDavid would need some major longevity and play at this elite pace for a very long time to justify bypassing Crosby's playoff successes.

 

[Dominance]

Those are some terrible poll options, with a monumental gap in between.

 

[Breakfast of Champs]

He could but there would be so many media/fans/people with the opinion that Crosby was still better because of his 3 cups.


I think the best he could realistically do is "tie" or be in a tossup with Crosby even if he has 8 art ross 6 hart, for instance. At least in the opinions of the masses

 

[Divine]

The issue is if he can't win a Cup, he isn't as good as Crosby.

I think Crosby in his prime drags the current Oilers to a Cup.

 

[Albatros]

Crosby took the worst team in the league to a cup within four years and two more since. I don't know how that could be matched without winning it.

 

[jetsforever]

Option 3
It's possible but he would probably have to be playing in a Lemieux-type tier

 

[nowhereman]

Yes but it will take a hell of a career. Most people have Crosby ahead of Jagr, even though the later racked up a lot of regular season awards. The thing is, Crosby would have also stacked his trophy case too (and then some), if not for injuries, but made up for it with tremendous playoff success. Jagr never lead a team to the Cup – rather, he was the 3rd/4th best player on a juggernaut Cup-winner and hit his prime when the Penguins weren't very good. And that's the great divider. As much as people like to dispel Crosby as "lucky", there's a reason he's won everything everywhere he goes.

Winning a Cup is a huge part of a player's legacy and, if McDavid can't do it, he'll have the deck stacked against him. There's more to a player's legacy than just regular season awards.

 

[WingsMJN2965]

Yes. People freak out over Cups too much when it comes to comparing players.

If Edmonton’s front office can’t put together a Cup team with McDavid and Draisaitl on their roster, that’s on Edmonton’s front office, not McDavid and Draisaitl.

This isn’t basketball. These are 19 man rosters. And when you have a GM that haphazardly blows a year of McDrai’s prime relying on a 40 year old goalie to backstop them, you can’t be surprised at the poor results.

 

[CokenoPepsi]

The issue is if he can't win a Cup, he isn't as good as Crosby.

I think Crosby in his prime drags the current Oilers to a Cup.

Doubtful

 

[bambamcam4ever]

Doubtful

The Oilers this year were better than the 09 Penguins outside of the top two players in each team

 

[Mulletman]

There should be an option for: "McDavid has already passed Crosby!"

 

[Mrb1p]

There should be an option for: "McDavid has already passed Crosby!"

And youd be the only one voting it.

 

[bobholly39]

I voted option #3. I think the wording may be a bit strong though, but still.

Crosby in my opinion is #5 all-time after the tier of Gretzky/Lemieux/Orr/Howe. Maybe some have him a few slots back than #5, but I think he has a solid case for #5.

One player whose often brought up as "the best player to never win a cup" is Marcel Dionne. When history forum ranked the top 100 player of all-time in 2018, Dionne slotted at #63. Again, you can have him a few ranks higher/lower, but #63 is a reference point.

That's a hell of a high bar to go all the way up to #5 without a cup, when the previous best player ever without a cup is #63.

I get that a cup is a team award and one player alone can't win - but still. I think it will definitely hurt his legacy if he doesn't win at least one cup.

Does McDavid put up many more playoff runs like the one in 2022, and does the narrative become "wow, one of the absolute best playoff performers ever, too bad his teams let him down and he could never win a cup!"? If that happens I suppose that yes he could pass Crosby all-time - but I do think it would be hard.

For what it's worth - I'm very confident McDavid wins at least 1 cup.

 

[Voight]

The issue is if he can't win a Cup, he isn't as good as Crosby.

I think Crosby in his prime drags the current Oilers to a Cup.

Honestly, thats not fair to say. This isn't basketball where one player makes a world of difference.

 

[Gunnersaurus Rex]

Where's the "He already has" option?

Yes he could, thats dumb.

Hes unlikely to have the longevity to match Crosby I think. Hes too reliant on explosion to be a 100 points player at 35 like Crosby is. He would need to make his team much better right now to surpass Sid. He hasnt done thst to me.

Huh? First, Crosby isn't 35. Second, he has had 1 season of 100 points in the last 8 years, 2 in the last 12. The notion that he's a 100 point player is wrong.

 

[Bouboumaster]

Possible, but let's just say that Crosby's two Conn Smythes have a lot of weight

 

[DrDangles]

Honestly, thats not fair to say. This isn't basketball where one player makes a world of difference.

I agree it's not very fair, but the media and majority of fans judge the greats based on their ability to win. If McDavid retires without a cup the narrative will be "he was an amazing talent that couldn't get the job done".

Only hockey nerds like us will actually look at factors outside of championships. On top of that, unless McDavid has an individual career similar to Mario, Howe, or Gretz even the nerds will be split on the discussion.

 

[mazmin]

Without at least one Cup he’ll go down in history in Marcel Dionne’s territory. An indisputable offensive menace, but not at a Crosby level.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

If McDavid wins like 10 Art Rosses I don’t see how he isn’t easily better

 

[Fourier]

McDavid cannot score when he is not on the ice nor stop the opposition from scoring while he is between shifts. Goals that are scored for and against the Oilers when he is on the bench count as much as the goals scored by and against the Oilers when he is on the ice. That should be all that one needs to realize to recognize why you cannot measure a players worth simply by championships.

His playoff performance this year rivalled anything I have seen from a player going back to Gretzky.

 

[CokenoPepsi]

The Oilers this year were better than the 09 Penguins outside of the top two players in each team

Doubtful.

Oilers may have some better depth with Kane and RNH but Smith is the worst goalie in the league.

MAF not great then but a huge upgrade over Smith.

 

[NextYear67]

When comparing those 2 the cups will reign supreme