- Connor McDavid has been a star in the NHL since he was drafted first overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2015.
- McDavid is scoring points at a rate of 1.52 points per game.
- On Thursday night, McDavid scored his 1,000th point in his 659th game, doing it in the fourth-fastest time ever.
If you ask anyone who watches the NHL, who the best player in the league is, Edmonton’s Connor McDavid will be the most likely answer. McDavid has won plenty of accolades, including five Art Ross Trophies as the highest scorer in the NHL, and three Hart Trophies as the league MVP.
McDavid added another milestone to his resume on Thursday night at home in Edmonton, as he became the 99th player to reach 1,000 points in his career. He also did it in an astonishingly fast time.
McDavid Reaches 1,000 Points in the Fourth-Fastest Time
McDavid scored his 1,000th point at 2:44 in the second period, to tie the game up for the Oilers against the Nashville Predators. He reached the mark in the fourth-fastest time in NHL history, in 659 games. Another former Oiler, Wayne Gretzky, did it in a ridiculous 424 games. Next is Mario Lemieux in 513 games, and Mike Bossy in 656 games.
It was also fitting that the assist came from Leon Draisaitl, who was selected third by the Oilers in the 2014 NHL Draft. McDavid and Draisaitl have been teammates for ten seasons now, and are arguably the best one-two punch in the NHL. The 27-year-old also reached the milestone in front of his father, Brian.
But McDavid wasn’t done, as he added an assist, along with Draisaitl, on Darnell Nurse’s overtime goal to give the Oilers a 3-2 win over the Predators. Nurse was drafted by Edmonton with the seventh pick in the 2013 Draft, and has been with the Oilers longer than the dynamic duo. Nurse and Draisaitl were groomsmen at McDavid’s wedding in July 2024.
McDavid has six goals and 13 assists for 19 points in 14 games, and he missed three games with an ankle injury. He is currently 14 points behind Colorado’s Nathan McKinnon for the NHL scoring lead, but if anyone can make up that gap in a hurry, it’s McDavid. The Edmonton captain should be a staple in your daily NHL player prop bets.
How Does This Affect McDavid’s Legacy?
The fact that McDavid did it in such a short time obviously puts him in rare company. Gretzky, Lemieux, and Bossy are certified greats and legends of the game, which is where McDavid is headed in his career. McDavid’s 1.52 points per game is third all-time behind Gretzky (1.92) and Lemieux (1.88). He has reached the 100-point mark in seven of his first nine seasons, including a career-high 153 points in 2022-2023.
The two times he hasn’t reached the 100-point plateau was his rookie season in 2015-16, when McDavid played just 45 games because of injury, but he still managed 48 points. He also scored 97 points in 64 games in 2019-2020, when the NHL season was shortened due to the pandemic.
The Oilers’ captain is going to go down as one of the all-time greats, but McDavid knows he needs a Stanley Cup. Edmonton is one of the favorites, according to the Stanley Cup odds, and as long as McDavid and Draisaitl are there, the Oilers will get plenty of love at NHL betting sites. The team will also be motivated by last season’s heartbreaking seven-game loss to Florida. The Oilers are 9-7-1 with 19 points so far, but it’s early in the season, and they’ll be in the mix at the end of the campaign.
