EDMONTON — Connor McDavid has solidified his status as one of the most prolific offensive producers in NHL history.
With a second-period goal against the Nashville Predators on Thursday, the Edmonton Oilers captain became both the fourth fastest and fourth youngest player to reach 1,000 NHL points.
THERE IT IS 💥
POINT 1,000 FOR 97! pic.twitter.com/SghYGS4tgU
— NHL (@NHL) November 15, 2024
McDavid accomplished the feat in 659 games just behind New York Islanders great Mike Bossy for third on the all-time list. Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux hold the top two spots.
| Player | Games |
|---|---|
|
Wayne Gretzky
|
424
|
|
Mario Lemieux
|
513
|
|
Mike Bossy
|
656
|
|
Connor McDavid
|
659
|
McDavid is two months shy of his 28th birthday. At 27 years and 306 days, he slides in just behind former longtime Detroit Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman (27 years, 291 days). Again, Gretzky (23 years, 328 days) and Lemieux (26 years, 171 days) are first and second.
Long viewed as a generational talent before being selected first by the Oilers in the 2015 draft, McDavid has done nothing to disappoint in the NHL.
Since entering the league, McDavid ranks first in points, primary assists, secondary assists, game-winning goals, even-strength points, power-play points and average ice time among forwards.
He’s won the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s scoring champion five times in nine seasons. He’s also been the runner-up three times. He’s been named the Ted Lindsay Award winner as the MVP as voted by the players four times. He’s claimed the Hart Trophy as league MVP three times. He was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in June after recording 42 points — including a record 34 assists — in 25 games.
McDavid has proven to be one of the most well-rounded and electrifying talents ever. Case in point, he won his first Rocket Richard Trophy with 64 goals in 2022-23 — the most since Alex Ovechkin netted 65 in 2007-08 — and followed that up by becoming the fourth player to collect 100 assists in a season. (Tampa Bay Lightning star Nikita Kucherov joined him two days later.)
If he can remain healthy, there’s a good chance that McDavid will reach 2,000 points before his career ends. Gretzky is the only player in league history to surpass that milestone with 2,857 points. Sidney Crosby is the leader among active players with 1,613 points.
Crosby is McDavid’s most comparable peer of the post-2004-05 lockout era. Since turning 30, Crosby has 586 points in 508 games — a 1.15 average. Even if McDavid started producing at that rate now, it would take him another 870 games to earn another 1,000 points and reach 2,000. For reference, McDavid notched 1.52 points per game before Thursday.
McDavid was coming off three- and four-point outings heading into Thursday’s game. Those exploits, plus the goal against Nashville, made McDavid the fourth Oilers player to reach 1,000 points. Gretzky (1,669 points), Jari Kurri (1,043 points) and Mark Messier (1,034 points) were the first three Edmonton skaters to hit that mark. The Oilers join Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Boston, Chicago and Detroit as the teams to have four 1,000-point scorers.
The 1,000th point for McDavid also allowed him to extend his point streak against the Predators to 15 games. He has 35 points in that span. The Oilers are 13-1-2 in their last 16 games against Nashville.
Required reading
• How many more scoring titles does Oilers’ Connor McDavid have in his future?
• ‘The sun will rise’: Connor McDavid’s summer of healing
• Empty space fuels Oilers’ Stanley Cup chase: ‘No secret that our goal is to win’
(Photo: Perry Nelson / Imagn Images)
