McDavid disappointing so far?

[Uncle Scrooge]

Going PPG in todays NHL is tough, and many players need to get hot at some point(s) to do it. If you get in the 90-100’s range, you definitely have to have those hot streaks no matter who you are.

McDavid has over PPG and i don’t remember a single particularly hot stretch.

That tells the whole story.. he’s doing what he can but there’s no consistent offensive flow to the Oilers, or a combination that is killing it (like the Avs line for example).

Most nights McJesus is flying out there. But i mean last night his linemates were Maroon and Caggiula. One is realistically a 3rd liner on his own and one at times makes you think if he should be playing in the AHL instead

 

[Soundwave]

At 0.89 ppg outside of the PP he's pretty much no.1 in the NHL for even strength/non-PP scoring rate ... the Oilers coaching staff needs to pull their heads out of their asses and figure out what they are doing on the powerplay because that's the only reason he's not going to win a 2nd straight Art Ross (he still might anyway).

That said I also get the feeling like for McDavid this is like treading water for him. This is the lower end of the baseline of his game. When it gets revved up it will be on another level.

 

[Panthaz89]

Wow he's regressing so fast...maybe Buffalo will send him a 7th for him.

 

[Plural]

Not at all. If anything, it's awesome to remember back on how a large amount of Oilers fans after last season were arrogantly saying stuff like 'McDavid will have a stranglehold on the Art Ross for the next 10 years' and actively jumping at posters who even dared to bring out the idea that he might not win the next 10 scoring titles.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Not at all. If anything, it's awesome to remember back on how a large amount of Oilers fans after last season were arrogantly saying stuff like 'McDavid will have a stranglehold on the Art Ross for the next 10 years' and actively jumping at posters who even dared to bring out the idea that he might not win the next 10 scoring titles.

This.

"Best player since Gretzky" my ass.

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

Sorry, I can't help but notice that McDavid is tied for first in ES points in the league with Nate Mackinnon
And he's first in scoring chances in the league, just check out natural stat trick. And he was sick.
So ya, He's the best player in the world

 

[KarmaPolice]

Ovechkin went from 106 pts at 20 to 92 at 21 I guess he regressed too and never improved after that right?

What a bum. He'll never amount to anything, this 'Ovechkin' guy.

The season's not over yet. McDavid went through some terrible health problems this season, dropping a lot of weight along the way. A few hot games and his PPG will climb, and let's not pretend he's not capable of it. Considering the health problems/illnesses he's had, it's actually pretty impressive that McDavid's PPG is as high as it is.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Sorry, I can't help but notice that McDavid is tied for first in ES points in the league with Nate Mackinnon
And he's first in scoring chances in the league, just check out natural stat trick. And he was sick.
So ya, He's the best player in the world

The power-play (or lack there-of) has been a huge issue for the team, and it's dropped the PPG rates of a lot of the Oilers' top players.

Even Drai has a higher even-strength point percentage than guys such as Matthews, P. Kane, Crosby, Stamkos, Kopitar, Eichel, Malkin, Ovechkin, Benn, etc. Drai also hasn't played much with McDavid this season -- certainly no where near the amount as last year, so he's driving his own line with less than ideal wingers, which is impressive in itself. It's the PP that has been killing us, and the coaches refuse to make changes, such as taking Letestu off the top unit, which is a joke. But it is what it is. Lack of a true Dman PPQB is also an issue. Our PP is such a mess, and our coaching hasn't been helping with putting guys like Letestu ahead of Puljujarvi on the top unit, among other things.

If our PP was even average, McDavid, Drai and other player's PPG would be much higher. They're getting it done at evens, but the PP has just been a disaster. Some of that can be put on the players, but I think every Oiler fan would admit that the coaching for the PP has been beyond awful.

 

[NewUser293223]

I never bought the hype, so no, he hasn't disappointed me. Nobody is a level above everyone else anymore. For stretches, but not an entire season.

 

[daver]

When your PP has scored league bottom 3 - 18 PP goals then you can’t expect anything but a slight regression.

He has 11 PP points compared to Kessel, Malkon, Crosby who have like ~30 each.

So he has no control over his PP point totals?

 

[KarmaPolice]

So he has no control over his PP point totals?

When you're forced to feed Letestu on the top PP unit, that can kind of have negative consequences. That's a coaching staff decision. For sure some of it is on the players, but the PP coaching and player selection has been abysmal to say the least. With Letestu out there, the PP becomes more of a 4-on-4. It's a joke that he continually gets a free pass, but not much the fans can do about that.

 

[WatchOut]

The whole team hasn't been playing well and oilers are bottom 10 in scoring. So its gonna be hard to increase his point total from last season.

Just wanted to mention this guys skating is unreal with his skillset, just look at that side step he made at 1:14.

 

[daver]

Sorry, I can't help but notice that McDavid is tied for first in ES points in the league with Nate Mackinnon
And he's first in scoring chances in the league, just check out natural stat trick. And he was sick.
So ya, He's the best player in the world

His PPG was the same while he was sick. He's had enough time to get over that.

His season to date has been disappointing of you thought he would win the Art Ross or take over as the league's best player.

 

[daver]

When you're forced to feed Letestu on the top PP unit, that can kind of have negative consequences. That's a coaching staff decision. For sure some of it is on the players, but the PP coaching and player selection has been abysmal to say the least. With Letestu out there, the PP becomes more of a 4-on-4. It's a joke that he continually gets a free pass, but not much the fans can do about that.

So maybe McDavid needs to become a better shooter.

 

[daver]

The whole team hasn't been playing well and oilers are bottom 10 in scoring. So its gonna be hard to increase his point total from last season.

Great players produce regardless.

 

[KarmaPolice]

So maybe McDavid needs to become a better shooter.

His shot is fine, but he continually tries to pass too much. That's certainly an issue. Some of it is certainly on the players, as I said. But to continually put Letestu out there on the first unit PP ahead of clearly superior player like Puljujarvi is also a problem that can't be denied. McDavid doesn't make those choices.

 

[bobholly39]

I think people are being too harsh on the OP.

He didn't call McDavid a disappointment or a bust. He said his season is disappointing...and it is?

I expected him to be leading the league in scoring easily again this year. He' not. It' ok to say you're disappointed - it doesn' mean you think he' a bust or should be traded . It just means you're disappointed in his production.

 

[Riddum]

Ovechkin went from 106 pts at 20 to 92 at 21 I guess he regressed too and never improved after that right?

Ovechkin's first 3 years are far superior than McDavid's. McDavid is a couple of notches below Sid and Ovi.

 

[Riddum]

His shot is fine, but he continually tries to pass too much. That's certainly an issue. Some of it is certainly on the players, as I said. But to continually put Letestu out there on the first unit PP ahead of clearly superior player like Puljujarvi is also a problem that can't be denied. McDavid doesn't make those choices.

His shot is not fine. I can name you 400 guys with a better shot.

 

[al secord]

He looks like he's lost a step. That could just be my bandwidth connection.

 

[KarmaPolice]

His shot is not fine. I can name you 400 guys with a better shot.

Okay, do it. Provide proof with each example of how and why they have a better shot. Thanks. You offered to do it, so let's see it.

Even if there are 1000 players around the world with a better shot, it wouldn't necessarily mean that McDavid's shot isn't 'fine.' It's a subjective term to begin with. I think it's fine, and maybe you do not. Fine, then agree to disagree.

Are you a Habs fan? Yeah, I guess you guys would HATE to have McDavid as your #1 center, am I right? I wonder if you'd make the same claim if he were a Habs player. I somehow doubt that.

 

[varano]

Mcdavid excels on a horrible team.

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

Mcdavid has taken a step back. Crosby malkin ovechkins first 3 years were far superior.

 

[Dr Pepper]

His shot is not fine. I can name you 400 guys with a better shot.

Ok, go.

Don't worry, we'll wait.

 

[Mcnotloilersfan]

For me, disappointed because:

-not go great on defence
-less than avg shot
-horrible in the faceoff circle
-doesn't score enough goals
-team with McDavid is already going backwards...in a big way.

I picked this post as a great example of how most of you don't have a clue what you're talking about!

He's a solid 2 way player. The team is going backwards? Theyre having a more unlucky season than any other team. It happens to good teams all the time. See Tampa last year.

McDavid also played sick through the entire month of November.

Anyone posting here without the facts, give your head a shake and dont come back!