@@joshuacolt2630 Now, now... An overfocus on one area of the game takes away from others. For example, if your aim is simply to score more and you don't care how, the Oilers could turn every game into a track meet and see what happens. Frankly, I'd love to see what happens, but the risk of losing control of games because you're not exactly focused on defence is too great (i.e., a certainty), and that's why no one does it. Maybe there's a hockey equivalent of Mike D'Antoni or Paul Westhead out there, but he won't be coaching in the NHL any time soon.
@@darrelladams4886 True it's hard to compare eras, but Gretzky's era is easier to compare to now than Wilt in his era for example. More like Lebron to Michael. Problem is, there is only one dude who can reaaaaaally even try and compare to Gretzky in his own era and that's Lemieux, and now McDavid.
@@aortisstent5076 becuase just like today's game nobody is at the same level as McDavid. Way harder to score in this era. The players are much faster and the game is played faster. Like then nobody came close to Gretzky. Gretzky was the greatest of all time of his era and McDavid will be the greatest of all time in the new era
@@aroundtheleaguehighlightse6163 Wayne became the all time points leader before turning 29. The closest to him is Jagr with 936 less points, and also has almost 300 more games played. Just stop. He has like 70+ records and is the statistical most dominant athlete of all time. Part of being the greatest of all time is being way ahead of your peers, and Wayne was in a different universe. Davo will go down as one of the best to ever do it but he is not Gretzkys level.... Also Gretzky played in the clutch and grab era, with no 3 on 3 overtime, and the 2 line pass rule, so imagine how many more points he could have had if the benefited from all those things like Connor. I mean even the advancement in sports medicine! If Davo played in the 80's and got the leg injury he had a couple of years back then his whole career would of been derailed. Era comparisons are so stupid.
Went to the game. There was a shift where McDavid set up like 5 guys - he just kept doing it. They weren't necessarily all setups for grade A chances, but they were all decent chances. Just over and over again he'd get the puck and make a pass to someone who had a shot, and then I think on his 5th setup pass in like a minute he hit Hyman for the goal.
Lucky. They were in Vancouver twice early in the season and I went to both games and both of them were garbage. I was so mad I stopped watching Edmonton and then of course they go on a historic winning streak. I completely ignored them until I looked up the score from the first game after the All-Star game and it was the first one they lost. FML
@@jasondashney Haha, yeah, there was definitely one or more problems at the beginning of the season. I don't pretend to be enough of an expert to know exactly what they were, but something was wrong that has gotten better since then.
@@dtmrea247 Both games the Oilers started hot but Van got the first goal and the Oilers fell apart. I'm in the wrong tax bracket to pay Canadian NHL prices to see a dumpster fire like that. Plus I work 60 a week now so I have no time to watch games.
that last Hyman goal last night...OMG. Draisaitl whips it around the boards from one side of the rink knowing McDavid will beat his man and pick up the pass along the boards on the other side and then centered to Hyman...
0:57 I'd just like to mention that Thornton had 96. In 2005, middle of the "dead puck". I think that counts as close. Edit: Regardless of whether it was actually dead-puck and low scoring, it was extremely close
05-06 was a wild season though, I think that season particularly doesn't get counted as "dead puck era" because scoring was *WAY* up coming out of the lockout. But I agree, Thornton's 96-assist season is as close as we've seen since the Gretzky/Lemieux days.
Goal scoring started to increase in 2005-06 and that season was also a bit of an offensive anomaly compared to years before and after. When I think dead puck era, late 90s to early 2000s stand out the most.
It would be interesting to compare individual player goals scored with total goals scored in the league across seasons. The you would really get a feel for which individual seasons are outstanding. The same could be done for points and assist
I think he does it! He is a beast. Def in my top 5 fav players not on my fav team lol. I would love to see him get a 100 assist year, with top scorer as well
A man so good and talented that he can boost the stats of the other teammates around him. If he does hit 100 assists this year he should get 100 goals next year
I can't see McDavid accepting being sat to rest up, for multiple reasons. Namely, because he wants to be out there, every game. He may pace himself a bit, but being the captain? Ya, I don't see him allowing that to happen. I think he gets it done, probably a solid 104 or 105 assists to close out the season. He is gonna have more multi-assist games, and maybe a game or two where he doesn't get one at all. Will be interesting to see how it unfolds. Hoping he gets it. Guy is a stellar player, and deserves to be in league with the greats.
Absolutely don't want to diminish the Great Ones records but if Mario would have had 6 or 7 100 assist seasons if he played nearly all the games. That shows how amazing both he and 99 were. Mario had 98 helpers one year where we only played 77 games, and 91 apples where he only played 60 games! 91 assists in 60 games?! Are you kidding me!? It shows just insane 66 and 99 were. To have connor's name mentioned with these guys is actually incredible
I mean Crosby got 84 at 19 years old on a garbage team, Jagr got 87 and over 60 goals, neither could break 100... but... McDavid over 100 assists, he will have 110 when it is all said and done this season. No matter how you slice it this is very impressive, and McDavid absolutely defines this era of hockey...
Given what's happening this year, and what's happened in years prior to 2022-2023, I get the impression McDavid is in Larry Bird "I'll play this whole game left-handed just to see what happens" territory. If he decides he wants to do something stats-wise, it will get done.
It's crazy, you double-team him and he will pass for a goal, you don´t double-team him and he will score. No player in the world can 1v1 him consistently.
As a leaf fan and a Marner fan, Its crazy that Marner is second in pointsto him fromt that draft class and McDavid would still contest for the title with out ever scoring a goal himself. (I know Marner had more points than McJesus had assists ~career~ at some point this season , too lazy to check now) But to have your closest competetion from your draft class be 50-60 assists as you approach 100 is absolutly GROSS!!! good for him make your mark!
It’s a great time to be an Oilers fan. I am a Flames fan living in Edmonton, and realistically I know that they won’t be in the playoffs this year. While I can’t see myself actually cheering for the Oilers, as a hockey fan, I can appreciate how exciting their games are. It’s going to be interesting to see what they can do and how far they go.
Joe Thornton came darn close to doing it in 05-06 when he got 96 assists in 81 games… I happen to remember that he got injured and missed 3 games early that season but because the Sharks had 2 fewer games played than the Bruins at the moment of the trade, he got 2 of those games back, I also remember that when he returned to Boston for the 1st time, he was kicked out of the game early, a game the Sharks went on to win about 5-1 if I recall, you just know if Thornton had been there, he almost certainly would have assisted on a few of those goals.
McDavid is just generational talent ... that which borns maybe once in a lifetime and we are so lucky to be alive while he plays. I was telling this, kind of long time ago, that it seems that he makes "goal scorer" from basically anyone playing in his line. His assists and space creating for shooters are just too crazy, it's really hard to find something he is not great at when it comes to ice hockey.
Actually that is not true. Kuch is on pace for 100 assists too. And he probably will get it the way he is playing. You think McDavid is on a scoring streak? Well Kuch is on a better one. The last 12 games he is scoring at 1980s Gretzky and Lemieux levels.
He definitely can do it. He's got more assists than games played this season, and he's got less assists left to get than there are games left to play. Honestly, I'd be more surprised if he DIDN'T get 100 assists this season at this point.
Connor is just trying with the league. He knows the assist milestone. He is trying to get it I can see him reversing his game this year and become a shooter in the playoffs.
@@thepuffypenguin4470 Yes he is. try 99. Not 95. Over the last 12 games he has 28pts. He is only 5 assists behind McDavid but 10 ahead in points. He is actually gaining on McDavid in assists. He might even surpass him if he keeps his current pace. Kuch has 23 assists in his last 12 games with no signs of slowing down. McDavid has 18 assists in his last 12 games.
Honestly, I feel like he just sits in the beginning of the year figuring out different ways to make the game fun for him in the middle of getting the cup. He's so damn pure. "Eh, I'll try this to hit 100 apples this year."
The insane part of this is, MCD isn`t even top in scoring. Kucherov has an insane 122 pts. in only 68 games, and MacKinnon has 117 in 69. All while Matthews has scored 57 goals in only 67 games and will hit 60 soon. It`s a wild season.
Not a fan of Kucherov at all but I would say the insane part of his stat (McD had a higher ppg last year) is that he's 44 points clear of second on his team (Brayden Point).
Kucherov is literally only five assist behind him. He could do it too and he also got 4 assists last night like McDavid. Kucherov could easily do it, too just saying
How many times has Ovechkin done it? So please let’s not reference him and the Great One, for whom Goals were just a side hustle, as though there’s any comparison to be made. If Gretzky focused as much on Goals as Ovi has, he’d have 2,000.
100 assist today is different from 100 assist 40 years ago. Send any great player from the past ten years to the 70's and it would be like watching a beer league play children.