Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers are must-watch television

"I'm paid to score big goals and paid to do that type of stuff." was the response of Oilers captain Connor McDavid after putting his name in the hat for Goal of the Year against the New York Rangers last week. The goal was further confirmation of what most of us already knew, McDavid is not human. 

The goal was the ultimate "F*ck it, I'll do it myself" moment. McDavid corrals the puck in the neutral zone and delays just long enough for his teammates to exit the offensive zone. In a position where 99% of NHL players would dump the puck in or wait for reinforcements, McDavid did the unthinkable. In no more than 3 seconds, he effortlessly stickhandles through four Rangers defenders before freezing goalie Alex Georgiev and sliding it past him on the backhand. 

I love everything about this goal. The burst of speed he gets when he first enters the zone, the skill to stickhandle through multiple stick checks, and the sheer creativity of the play itself. What human even thinks they can do that? Much less actually do that? That's just one of those plays where the best player on the planet decides to take over the game himself. 

McDavid is currently on pace for 160 points through the first 14 games of the season. If that's too small a sample size, let's extend it to his last 60 games, where he's scoring at a 180 point pace. If he were to hit the 160 mark, he would join only Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux as the only players in league history to do so. 

On Sunday, McDavid hit the 600 point mark in just his 421st NHL game. He is the sixth-fastest player to reach this milestone, with only Gretzky, Lemieux, Peter Stastny, Mike Bossy, and Jarri Kurri ahead. That's some impressive company for the 24-year-old. It should also be noted that McDavid plays in an era where goalies are better and more protected. Additionally, league-wide scoring is down from the high-flying days of the 80s and (to some extent) 90s. 

Connor McDavid just hit 600 points in his career, crazy thing is there's a decent chance he hits the 700 point mark later this season.

— Dustin Nielson (@nielsonTSN1260) November 15, 2021

What McDavid is doing is special; So special that I would venture as far as saying he is the best athlete on earth right now (relative to the rest of their sport). He has an elite blend of speed, skill, and playmaking ability that allows him to play the game at a higher level than anyone else. Every time he touches the puck, you feel like something is about to happen, regardless of where he is on the ice. 

His defensive game has also improved drastically over the last two seasons. Since the beginning of the shortened 2021 season, the Oilers have a 68.5 percent expected goals share while McDavid is on the ice. This means that McDavid is creating chances at a much higher rate than he is giving them up. The criticism of his game has been that he's a black hole defensively, but it's beginning to look like that's no longer the case.

 

Conor McDavid improved defensively by a significant margin last year while continuing to break the charts offensively...watching the games could've told you that though 🤷‍♂️ https://t.co/m1Uqb4Bc7v pic.twitter.com/WNZhrZxDDb

— Evolving-Hockey (@EvolvingHockey) November 12, 2021

McDavid has his Oilers playing some of the best hockey Edmonton fans have seen in a long while. The team's 11-3-0 start has them atop both the Pacific Division and the entire Western Conference. For the first time in the McDavid/Leon Draisaitl era, it feels like GM Ken Holland is building a solid team around their dynamic one-two punch. Evan Bouchard, Zach Hyman, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins have all elevated their games and contributed to Edmonton's hot start. Even Mikko Koskinen has bounced back from a rough 2021 season and has been solid between the pipes during Mike Smith's absence. This is an exciting team to watch, and it's refreshing to see an Oilers team that isn't held back by poor management.

  

What McDavid is doing is unprecedented in this era of hockey. He is head and shoulders above any other player in the league and is only getting better. If you know me, you know that I am always willing to give the modern players the benefit of the doubt when comparing players from different eras. The technology and resources available to young players are far greater than it was as early as 20 years ago. Gretzky's point totals (and most of his records) are likely untouchable, so he will always have GOAT status because of that. But I don't think it's too far-fetched to say that we have never seen a player as talented as #97.

If you're not a hockey fan or just don't watch the Oilers all that often, I strongly encourage you to tune into a few games this season. They are, in my opinion, the best product the NHL is putting on the ice at the moment.