Edmonton Oilers star praises Connor McDavid

On the edge of Connor McDavid Reaching 1,000 NHL points in his career, there is no shortage of praise for the Edmonton Oilers captain. He is just one point away from becoming the 99th player to ever reach that goal, ranking fourth in NHL history.

For McDavid’s Oilers teammates, it’s just a reminder of how generational a player he is. Just ask his running mate and fellow superstar Leon Draisaitl. In a conversation with radio and podcast host Eric Friesen, Draisaitl made a bold claim on behalf of his teammate.

“(Connor McDavid) I think is the best player to ever play,” he said. “He single-handedly turned our franchise around. I love sharing the ice with him, and he is a very special person.”

When Draisaitl says that this is not only the greatest compliment for McDavid, it also means that in his eyes McDavid has surpassed the consensus greatest player of all time, Wayne Gretzky.

Draisaitl may have a point. McDavid was able to reach 1,000 points in just 659 games. The only three players to achieve that faster were New York Islanders icon Mike Bossy in 656 games, Pittsburgh Penguins legend Mario Lemieux in 513 games, and Gretzky himself in a whopping 424 games.

The next player of the modern era to reach this number as quickly is Penguins captain Sidney Crosby. He recorded his 1,000th point in his 757th career game, nearly 100 games later than McDavid is about to do.

This is McDavid’s 10th season in NHL, all spent with the Oilers. The team’s first overall pick in 2015 has exceeded expectations in almost every way. His 153 points during the 2022-2023 season are the most in a single season since Lemieux scored 161 during the 1995-96 season.

The only thing that eludes McDavid and his Oilers legacy is a Stanley Cup victory. The team was just one win away from the championship last year, but a difficult start is a blow to their competitive chances. If McDavid can lead the team to the promised land and hoist the Cup, it could reinforce Draisaitl’s belief that his teammate is the greatest player of all time.

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