There is no need to remind anyone that Wayne Gretzky not only set records during his career but also delivered four Stanley Cups to the Oilers. McDavid is certainly aware of that legacy, but last season’s relatively early playoff exit gave him and his linemates time to fine-tune their game over the summer and showcase their incredible potential.
Edmonton are playing beautiful, attacking hockey. But it must be said that McDavid is the main reason why. He has 31 points from the team’s 47 goals, and has been on the ice for at least 37 of them.
And yes, it is also true that the rest of the team is struggling. When McDavid is not on the ice, the Oilers have a minus-13 record.
With his current scoring rate, McDavid is averaging 3.1 points per game. If he continues at the same pace, the expanded schedule could see him rack up 260 points! Only one player in NHL history has surpassed the 200-point mark, and Gretzky did it four times.
The record has stood since 1985/86, when he scored 52 goals and 163 assists for a total of 215 points! Will it finally fall after 41 years?
But to avoid putting McDavid on too high a pedestal and to remember that a spectacular start does not guarantee success, he is certainly not the best player at this stage of the season.
After 10 games, Mario Lemieux had at least 32 points on three occasions. In 1988/89, the Pittsburgh icon had an incredible 37. Even that was not enough to reach 200 points by the end of the season. Consistency and fitness are crucial, as Lemieux missed four games that year…
In any case, the overnight game against Carolina was the 17th game of McDavid’s career in which he recorded five points. That moved him up the NHL’s all-time charts, past Marcel Dionne, Steve Yzerman and Jari Kurri. He now sits fourth. In terms of four-point games, he has 58, including the playoffs, just one behind Jaromir Jagr (59).
McDavid recorded 138 points last season, his eighth campaign with 100 or more. His career high is 158. How is it possible that things are going almost twice as well this year?
Recognition from Draisaitl
There are probably several factors. New head coach Mike Babcock has reunited McDavid with Leon Draisaitl on the same line. And Draisaitl is grateful to be playing alongside such an exceptional hockey player again.
"What can you say? It’s almost unbelievable. In my opinion, he may be the best player ever to play the game. It’s a joy to share the ice with him and learn something from him every day," the German goalscorer told the Edmonton Journal after the game in which the Oilers beat the reigning champions from Carolina in a shootout.
Together, they fought back from a two-goal deficit, with McDavid scoring the equaliser 88 seconds before the end.
"When he was 24, he was just as brilliant and just as fast. But there were small details that perhaps were not quite perfect. Today, his game is completely rounded, and he has not lost anything in attack. There simply aren’t enough words for it," Draisaitl added.
The NHL scoring leader is also continuing to collect points on the power play. Although he has not scored a single power-play goal, he already has 11 assists this season! Then there is the aforementioned preparation time. The Oilers’ last season ended 45 days earlier than it did for the teams that played in the Stanley Cup Final.
So the question is: Can Connor McDavid maintain his scoring pace? To be frank, it will be very difficult.
For example, his current shooting percentage of 32% is probably unsustainable over the long term. His career high to date was 18.2%.
What is interesting, however, is that he is taking fewer shots on goal this season than he did last year. In 2025/26, he averaged 3.73 shots per game; this season, the figure is just 2.44. It is clear that, with Draisaitl’s scoring touch, he is increasingly becoming more of a playmaker.
His workload on the ice will probably prove unsustainable as well. McDavid is currently averaging 23:46 per game, with coach Mike Babcock unafraid to use him even while killing penalties. In previous seasons, McDavid’s ice time was just over 22 minutes.
There is no doubt, though, that the 200-point mark could fall. Another advantage for the current superstar is that scoring has increased across the NHL again following rule changes. The four additional games McDavid has compared with the era in which Wayne Gretzky played could also help.