...McDavid would literally destroy the NHL if he went back to 1980. He would more than double Gretzky in points.
After I stopped laughing at your post (Selanne was better than Lemieux...? What?), I then wondered why it is so important to you to convince people that McDavid in a time machine would be 'better' than Lemieux/Gretzky, whoever.
Can you explain why it so important for you to convince other people of this? Obviously, a lot of people agree with you, a lot of people disagree with you, and neither can be proven correct, unless
Back to the Future becomes a reality (and McDavid wants to take a trip to the 80s to play rough hockey for way less money, which he wouldn't). Why does this matter so much to you, especially when your opinion, among knowledgeable fans, is clearly not in any kind of strong majority? The definition of "insanity" is continuing to do something you know will fail.
As for the "he would more than double Gretzky in points" comment... Uh, no, he wouldn't.
McDavid would have to use what would feel like, to him, a lumbering, heavy piece of wood to play hockey with. This would slow him down and make his stickhandling appear much more deliberate than it appears now with the super-light, 'whippy' sticks. He might have an easier time slapping the puck with 1984's equipment than now, but as you know slapshots are far from his forte anyway. And the nimble deking and wrist-shots that
are his forte would be much more difficult to do.
Getting back to the "would double Gretzky in points" comment, consider a few things:
-- Gretzky effectively doubled the next-best NHLer in points from 1980 to 1988, so what you're saying is that McDavid would score 4 times more than Stastny and Bossy
-- Gretzky easily outscored Mario Lemieux from 1984 to 1988, and again from 1989 to 1991.
-- Mario Lemieux was a teammate of Sidney Crosby
-- In the first 14 games they played together, Crosby had 18 points and Lemieux 17. Mario was 40 years old and days from retirement (again), and Crosby one year from his highest points' season.
-- McDavid has not hugely outscored Crosby in the 3.3 seasons they've overlapped thus far.
Given these factors, it's a laughably misinformed opinion to express, as you are doing with absolute authority, that McDavid would easily double Gretzky in points.
McDavid is one of the greatest hockey players I've ever seen. I think he's the best player I've seen since Mario Lemieux in the early-/mid-1990s. I don't think he's as skilled as Lemieux or Gretzky were in terms of overall hockey IQ and instinct -- that's hardly a put-down, as nobody else is either. McDavid is, in fact, my favorite hockey player for the past 20 years. But he's not at Gretzky or Lemieux's skill level.
Anyway, since you've long-since become entrenched in your opinion which you seem attached to for ego/emotional reasons more than accuracy, I have no doubt my words will have no influence on your thinking whatsoever.