filinski77
Registered User
- Feb 12, 2017
- 2,622
- 4,304
I think it's perfectly reasonable to think that McDavid did hit his peak in the Canadian division, and that it was just unlucky that it happened that year.People shit on McDavid's 2021 season because of the Canadian division, but strictly age-wise, and comparing him to other offensive savants from the past, it was perfectly reasonable that this would be his highest level of play.
That was peak McDavid, along with last year's playoffs. It won't get any better than that. Maybe he still has a season of that level in the tank, but not much more. That doesn't mean he won't still win Art Rosses though, just that he won't be as Godly while doing it.
I also think that it's perfectly reasonable to look at his production from the 2 years prior, and 1 year after it, and think that the high /gp production had more to do with unusual circumstances. It sucks if it was actually his peak, but the below items are way too important to completely rule out that it was just an anomaly and not indicative of what McDavid would have done in a normal season.
a) Shortened season
b) Only played against 6 teams (loses the majority of the diversity a normal NHL Season brings)
c) Tons of teams with roster issues due to COVID and family matters
d) The potential context that some players didn't care to play at all in the bubble, possibly leading to lower effort/competition
To conclude, I think it's perfectly fair to lean either way, but the biggest issue is we just will never know.