McDavid feels winning Cup key to cementing legacy among all-time best

EDMONTON — For all he’s accomplished in the NHL thus far, Connor McDavid feels winning the Stanley Cup with the Edmonton Oilers is key to cementing his legacy among the great hockey players in history.

“I think hockey is a team game, but with that being said, all those great guys have won before and it’s certainly something that we’re after in Edmonton,” McDavid said prior to playing his first game of the 2023-24 preseason, facing the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Place on Wednesday. “There has been no shortage of talk or coverage on that, but I certainly feel that the greats have all won and that’s what you have to do.”

McDavid, 26, is going into his ninth season with the Oilers. The No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft has won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player three times (2017, 2021, 2023), the Ted Lindsay Award as the most outstanding player, as voted on by his peers, four times (2017, 2018, 2021, 2023), the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s scoring champion five times (2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023) and the Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard Trophy as the NHL’s goal-scoring champion once (2023).

Last season, McDavid had 153 points (64 goals, 89 assists) in 82 games, which was the highest point total since Mario Lemieux had 161 points (69 goals, 92 assists) in 70 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1995-96.

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said last week he believes McDavid could reach 170 points this season. Yet, the main focus for McDavid is to win the Stanley Cup with Edmonton.

“Obviously, it’s cool when someone like that says that about you, but with that being said, numbers are kind of irrelevant at this point,” McDavid said. “We want to produce, but we want to win games and that’s the main thing.”

The Oilers were eliminated in the Western Conference Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, losing in six games to the Vegas Golden Knights, who went on to win their first championship. The previous season Edmonton was swept out of the Western Conference Final by the Colorado Avalanche, who also went on to win the Stanley Cup.

“That’s a pretty good opinion to get in someone pretty special like Sidney Crosby,” Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said. “I’ve come to learn that putting a limit on Connor McDavid’s potential is not a good thing, so I’m not going to spitball or guesstimate how many points he’s going to get. The one thing he is concerned with is making sure his team gets two points every night.”

Edmonton is again considered a Stanley Cup contender this season, but McDavid believes it takes more than just one great player to win. Fortunately for the Oilers, he is surrounded by a strong supporting cast.

“It’s a team game and it’s not like basketball or football where the quarterback gets the ball every play, and basketball where you can play 45 minutes and have the ball every possession,” McDavid said. “It’s a team game — maybe the ultimate team game there is — and it takes everybody, a full organization. It takes everybody to stay healthy and a little bit of luck too.”

McDavid is a huge admirer of Crosby, 36, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2005 NHL Draft and is going into his 19th season. Crosby has three Stanley Cup championships (2009, 2016, 2017) to go with his two Hart Trophies (2007, 2014), three Ted Lindsay Awards (2007, 2013, 2014) and two Art Ross Trophies (2007, 2014).

“When you talk about some of the greatest of all time he’s definitely up there,” McDavid said. “Just in terms of what he’s done, individually, and winning at every level. He’s kind of done it all and at a very high level for a long time. It’s very impressive and we have nothing but respect for him and what he’s done.”

McDavid first met Crosby while with Erie of the Ontario Hockey League. McDavid had been granted exceptional player status to play in the junior league as an underaged player, and his team made the trip to Pittsburgh to watch the Penguins play.

“I met him in my first year in junior when I was 15,” McDavid said. “We went down to Pittsburgh, a billet [owner] knew Billy Guerin (player development coach) or something like that, and he got us into the room. It was actually funny, I was talking to (Oilers forward) Brandon Sutter about that as well because he was on that (Pittsburgh) team and it’s pretty funny looking back.”

The Penguins are also considered Cup contenders with the addition of reigning and three-time Norris Trophy winning defenseman Erik Karlsson. Crosby is entering the season coming off his most productive year since 2018-2019. He had 93 points (33 goals, 60 assists) in 82 games last season.

“Just being around him a little bit, you see how much excitement he brings to the rink, and he still seems like he loves being at the rink and hanging around the guys and talking about hockey,” McDavid said. “And I think that’s why he’s been able to keep his game at a high level for so long, because he just loves it and works at it, and it is impressive to see.”

McDavid said he would one day like to play with Crosby in an international tournament. Meeting Crosby in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final would be a dream scenario as well.

“I’ll take a Cup Final against anybody,” McDavid said. “But against Sid, it would be incredible.”