I know but if we took this anywhere else we'd have to discuss it with the rest of HF, and I like you guys more than most of them.
As for McD, it just feels like everytime I watch him play one of the guys who's having a better year than him, he's clearly the more talented player. Put him out there against MacKinnon / Malkin / Kucherov and to me it's clear who's the best player on the ice...and it isn't one of those three guys who are battling for the Hart.
*Admittedly though I was a better hockey player than soccer player when I was young, because I had been on skates since I was 2 and developed early physically, while alway being better at being able to regain my stamina than maintain it; I know a lot more about the technical aspects of football and so trust my ability to assess footballers much more than I do hockey players. So this might just be an example of me being a bit of a hockey layman.
Personally I think that people get too caught up in the aesthetic portion of play and don't think about effectiveness enough. McDavid is probably one of the nicest players in the league to watch and a lot of that has to do with the fact that he might be the best hockey skater I've ever seen. That said, as much as he's immensely talented, he definitely isn't a more effective player than a handful of others in the league. My favourite player growing up was Pavel Bure (well him and Jason Spezza) -- I just LOVED watching him. I think it's easy to fall in love with players that are aesthetically pleasing to watch and to forget about little things, or how much of an impact overall they have on the ice/field/whatever.
Also peak Crosby is without a doubt the best player of his generation (yes, better than peak Malkin or Ovechkin). Before his concussions/injuries he looked on the way to putting up, potentially, the best 'era adjusted' season ever (iirc). He's still definitely the best player of his generation, and not just for his offensive pursuits. But again, he doesn't fall into that typical mold where someone would look at him play and think 'wow, amazing' the way that Malkin can do at times. He's just so, so smart, hard working and obviously physically gifted.
That said the line of thinking above is not limited to hockey or any one sport. I think it's most prevalent in soccer tbh. At the end of the day it's not about being the most flashy, the best looking (at what you're doing), or the most talented. It's about being the most effective player you can be and having the most impact in terms of winning games (or at least having the most impact on the pitch in terms of your team's functionality). There are a lot of factors that need to be considered that I don't think people spend much time thinking about (tap ins vs wondergoals, dribbling vs ghosting, tackling vs cutting off lanes, pressure vs zone control, etc.)
But anyway, I don't fault someone for thinking that McDavid might be the best player in the league right now, or at the very least the most talented. To say that he's on a different level to any other player in the league though? That's pretty bold and, IMO, has no real substance.