In the 1985-86 season, Wayne Gretzky scored 215 points in the NHL regular season, an “impossible” record that no one has come close to beating since.
Now Connor McDavid has got the hockey world talking about Gretzky’s record.
The season is still in its infancy, but McDavid’s tremendous start, with 39 points in the first 15 games, gives him an average of 2.6 points per game. Multiply that by 84 games and the 29-year-old Edmonton star would end up with 218 points in the regular season.
People have been fascinated by him ever since he came to the league. He constantly does things that are really extraordinary. He has the speed, the technique, everything, says Håkan Loob.
“It would be absolutely magical”
McDavid has already won the NHL scoring title six times in his ten seasons, with a personal best of 153 points. But his scoring has reached a new level this season, partly thanks to new coach Mike Babcock choosing to pair the Canadian with the team's other big star, Leon Draisaitl.
When it really clicks, they are almost "unstoppable". I would like to think that McDavid can pass 200 points, if he can stay healthy and injury-free, and that alone would be absolutely magical, says Loob.
The 66-year-old from Gotland, now a TV pundit, reached a career best of 106 points during his six NHL seasons with Calgary in the 1980s.
Hockey looked a little different back then. The goal average in the NHL has certainly increased in recent seasons, but is still a long way from the levels during the Gretzky era.
If he ends up with these numbers, like Gretzky, you can almost say that it was better done by McDavid. It's a bit tougher these days, with better goalies and high-speed hockey that makes it quite difficult to be very skilled individually.
Never won the Stanley Cup
For Connor McDavid to be seriously compared to Wayne Gretzky, there is something missing. Gretzky won the Stanley Cup four times with the Edmonton Oilers, while McDavid's dreams of lifting the trophy that all hockey players aspire to have ended with final losses in both 2024 and 2025.
He's not 20 years old anymore and is probably stressed already. I think it would gnaw at him a lot if he never wins the Stanley Cup, says Håkan Loob, himself a champion with Calgary in 1989.
So far, Edmonton tops the Western Conference. The team - and McDavid - are chasing more points on the road against New Jersey on Tuesday.
What do you think?