Is Connor McDavid the best player ever?

[Chips]

He did manage to separate himself by 36 points to his closest non-teammate back in 2020 in only 56 games.

He had a sort of down year last year (relative to his possession, chances created etc) so maybe he does that again this season, but until then there will be a question mark about the covid season given the contained divisions and sample size (56 isn’t nothing, but 82 can still change things)

 

[Rockmorton]

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Like I said - we have a comedian here ladies and gentlemen. :-p

I‘m assuming you're intentionally ignoring

Really??

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Woo. I stand corrected. He won a secondary championship six years ago. Clearly he's the best ever.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Kevin Stevens would have broken McDavid. So nah. The game was much more physical then. I don’t think a player like McDavid would have thrived like people think

McDavid would've just skated around him.

It's weird how people always say "Just hit McDavid!" but very few do.

 

[Sentinel]

Yeah, because systems play for defense, goaltending and overall team defense isn't miles ahead of where it was back then?

It may not be more physical now but teams are FAR better defensively. There isn't a "ton of open ice" with modern equipment, that isn't even a thing. It's likely less open ice because players are faster and better defensively, by a lot. Quit making stuff up.

Sure. Again: watch the last Oilers vs Predators or Senators vs TBL games. And then tell me with the straight face the defense or goaltending is better now than it was in the 90s.

The only Russian player who could challenge Gretzky in the 80s was Makarov. And given how Makarov did against Gretzky in every 80s international competition we can have a pretty good idea where they would end up, relative to each other.

Also: bring back the red line and square McDavid up against Potvin, Stevens, or Konstantinov.

Greatest? No.
Best? Arguably.

Was Gretzky better than his peers than McDavid is? Absolutely yes.

Is McDavid a better hockey player than Gretzky? Absolutely yes.

It all depends on how you want to compare things.

Absolutely? Are you absolutely sure?

 

[Bank Shot]

He had a sort of down year last year (relative to his possession, chances created etc) so maybe he does that again this season, but until then there will be a question mark about the covid season given the contained divisions and sample size (56 isn’t nothing, but 82 can still change things)

The covid season was legit. McDavid had no luck luck last year.

People going to see McDavid do something unbelievable again this season. It'll be harder for the haters to come up with an excuse. I'm sure they'll still come up with something completely hair-brained though.

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

Impossible to judge and it will be forevermore. It's practically a different game now than when Orr and Gretz played. For all we know the latter two would be failures in today's game or given their abilities, they would have been trained to be just as good in today's game or maybe they'd be even better without the clutch and grab in those days. Interesting subject but absolutely no one here has the answer.

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

I‘m assuming you're intentionally ignoring

Woo. I stand corrected. He won a secondary championship six years ago. Clearly he's the best ever.

Rockmorton shuts down his mortal enemies Ruthervin and Rengorlex once again.

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

McDavid would've just skated around him.

It's weird how people always say "Just hit McDavid!" but very few do.

Not exactly the same game now. Big hits have to be flawless now to avoid a lengthy suspension. I'm pretty confident someone would have caught him with a doozy by now back in the day.

 

[EK392000]

Do you mean best as in the most skilled?

 

[Chips]

The covid season was legit. McDavid had no luck luck last year.

People going to see McDavid do something unbelievable again this season. It'll be harder for the haters to come up with an excuse. I'm sure they'll still come up with something completely hair-brained though.

I’m not saying the covid season for sure wasn’t legit, but it’s a question mark until he maintains it a full season. I acknowledged last season was a down year


That was a weak Canadian division, and most of the prime talent was offense not defense. He hardly faced any of the top Dmen if any, and goaltending wasn’t spectacular outside of the Jets, who’s defense was so acutely bad it didn’t matter as much


I’d be happy and amazed (in the good sense) if McDavid goes 30+ over everyone else a full season, especially if he also paces the equivalent higher per 60 (if he plays 2+ minutes more per game even strength than other stars)

 

[Bank Shot]

I’m not saying the covid season for sure wasn’t legit, but it’s a question mark until he maintains it a full season. I acknowledged last season was a down year


That was a weak Canadian division, and most of the prime talent was offense not defense. He hardly faced any of the top Dmen if any, and goaltending wasn’t spectacular outside of the Jets, who’s defense was so acutely bad it didn’t matter as much


I’d be happy and amazed (in the good sense) if McDavid goes 30+ over everyone else a full season, especially if he also paces the equivalent higher per 60 (if he plays 2+ minutes more per game even strength than other stars)

It's all talking points. Outside of McDavids monster year there really aren't any other extreme outliers or oddities in the stats from that NHL season that standout from a regular season of 82 games against every opponent.

It was a pretty normal season stats wise. It goes against maybe what people expected so they don't like to admit it to themselves but despite NHL teams only playing other teams in their division it resulted in a normally distributed season.

Because it was different people are going to use that as an excuse to discount the things that they didn't like but that says more about their bias then it does about the season that was played.

 

[Jumptheshark]

as an oiler fan I take both Gretz and Messier before him

 

[Neutrinos]

as an oiler fan I take both Gretz and Messier before him

As an unbiased hockey fan, I'd take McDavid before either of them

 

[Darren McCord]

McDavid would've just skated around him.

It's weird how people always say "Just hit McDavid!" but very few do.

You’d get kick out of a game for half of the hits in the early 90’s players don’t play a wreckless. Also holding was ridiculous back then. You can’t go fast with three guys on your back.

Also players don’t get shadowed like they used to because of the modern systems.

 

[Ruthervin]

"Kevin Stevens would have broken McDavid,"

LMFAO.

C'mon.

 

[Devils090]

McDavid has a skill set nobody who’s ever played the game before has, the way he moves is inhuman at times. “Best player ever?” Way too early for that, he might end up there one day.

“Most talented player ever” certainly can make that case right now.