To honour Connor McDavid eclipsing a Wayne Gretzky record for most assists in a single post-season, let’s discuss just how dominant of a career run the Edmonton Oilers captain is on. When we think of the all-time, single-season scoring records, a couple of teams in particular come to mind, the 1985 Edmonton Oilers and the 1996 Pittsburgh Penguins. Yes, this year’s version of the Edmonton Oilers may or may not claim the Stanley Cup Championship, but that should do nothing to deter people’s opinion of one of the greatest stretches of productivity currently underway with the likes of Connor McDavid.
Connor McDavid’s Record for Playoff Assists Apart of a Bigger Picture
Going back to the third period of Game 3 in this year’s 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Final in particular, McDavid has seemed to have made it his mission to will his club to a Stanley Cup victory. Even if it doesn’t come to fruition in this year’s final, McDavid and the Oilers are going nowhere when it comes to NHL supremacy.
In terms of the scoring records specifically, Connor McDavid has already established himself as one of the all-time greats. Furthermore, scoring tends to come in spans, whether that is game-to-game, with scoring streaks, or year-to-year with team dynasties. Today we will analyze three-year totals. Therefore, let’s take a look at McDavid’s statistics from the past three seasons, regular season and playoffs.
- 21-22 Regular Season – 80 GP – 44 g 79 a 123 pts
- Playoffs 16 gp – 10 g – 23 a – 33 pts
- 22-23 Regular Season – 82 GP – 64 g 89 a 153 pts
- Playoffs 12 gp – 8 g – 12 a – 20 pts
- 23-24 Regular Season – 76 GP – 32 g 100 a 132 pts
- Playoffs 32 gp – 6 g – 32 a – 38 pts
Within these three years, McDavid holds the claim to fame for some notable scoring accomplishments having him amongst rare company. First of all, from Saturday night’s Game 4 performance in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, McDavid’s four points will go down in infamy. Not only did it save the Oilers season, in staving off elimination, down 3-0, but his third assist set a playoff record. McDavid leapfrogged Wayne Gretzky’s record for most assists in a single playoff season with 32. Moreover, the 100 assists from this year’s regular season, made McDavid one of only five players to ever achieve that mark. Finally, the 153 points from 2022-23 are quite remarkable as well. Only three different players have ever eclipsed that total Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Steve Yzerman.
The Best Three Year Runs for NHL Scorers
If we study McDavid’s regular season cumulative point total (408) for the three seasons, that also puts him in very elite company. Here is the list of different players best, three-year regular season point total.
- Wayne Gretzky – 83-84 to 85-86 – 628 pts
- Mario Lemieux – 87-88 to 89-90 – 490 pts
- Phil Esposito – 70-71 to 72-73 – 412 pts
- Connor McDavid – 21-22 to 23-24 – 408 pts
- Marcel Dionne – 78-79 to 80-81 – 402 pts
So, as we see, McDavid’s point total from the past three seasons, has only been surpassed by three different NHLers in history. If we narrow in on single season totals, again, McDavid’s current run is something straight out of the Guinness record books for NHL scoring greatness. The 2023-24 playoffs are still not over, and yet McDavid finds himself tied for fifth in most points in a single playoff.
Most Points in a Single Post-Season
- 1984-85 – Gretzky – EDM – 47 pts
- 1990-91 – Lemieux – PIT – 44 pts
- 1987-88 – Gretzky – EDM – 43 pts
- 1992-93 – Gretzky – LAK – 40 pts
- (tied) Gretzky (82-32) McDavid (23-24) – 38 pts
Another way to look at, is combined dominance from the regular season and playoff of a particular campaign.
Best Seasons Ever Points with Ranks Combined Regular Season and Playoffs
- 1st – Gretzky – 84-85 – 255 pts
- 5th – Gretzky – 81-82 – 224 pts
- 6th – Lemieux – 88-89 – 218 pts
- 10th – Lemieux – 95-96 – 188 pts
- 14th – Bossy – 81-82 – 174 pts
- 15th – McDavid – 22-23 – 173 pts
- 16th – Jagr – 95-96 – 172 pts
- 17th – McDavid – 23-24 – 170 pts
Note on the above list that the top 13 spots are all either Gretzky or Lemieux, with Lemieux included three times total, and the rest are Gretzky.
One Player Does Not a Team Make
One more statistic, since we haven’t brought Leon Draisaitl and another active player, Nathan MacKinnon into the discussion. That is the top-five for points-per-game in the post-season (minimum 40 games played).
- Gretzky – 208 games – 1.84 PPG
- Lemieux – 107 games – 1.61 PPG
- McDavid – 71 games – 1.59 PPG
- Draisaitl – 71 games – 1.51 PPG
- MacKinnon – 88 games – 1.30 PPG
As the Stanley Cup Finals Begin, Edmonton Oiler Players Chasing History
If we haven’t noticed, McDavid and the rest of the Oilers are a very special group. In a previous article, besides Connor McDavid’s record for playoff assists, we analyzed other potential records for Zach Hyman and Evan Bouchard could approach. However, given the way the final series has gone thus far McDavid’s current run will be felt as a failure if the Oilers can’t claim a Stanley Cup Championship, if not this year, definitely for 2025. Conversely, his scoring prowess over the past few seasons will go down in history. Outside of Wayne Gretzky’s run until about 1993, McDavid’s run is one of the greatest stretches of scoring dominance the league has ever seen.
Fans should revel in the spectacle that they are witnessing, and honour the league’s history with all the great names that have passed through, and McDavid has topped many of them in different respects. Will McDavid continue to add to his 2023-24 scoring totals, or will current Conn Smythe Trophy favourite, Sergei Bobrovsky and his Florida Panthers put a stop to the scoring?
