Connor McDavid milestones: Oilers star becomes 6th player in NHL history with 150-point season

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid continues to enjoy a historic 2022-23 campaign, reaching another impressive milestone during Saturday's game against the San Jose Sharks.

McDavid picked up a pair of first-period points to become the sixth player in NHL history to register a 150-point season. He tacked on a goal in the third period to eclipse the jaw-dropping mark.

Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Bernie Nicholls, Steve Yzerman and Phil Esposito are the other members of the "150 Club." Lemieux was the most recent skater to reach that historic threshold, scoring 161 points over 70 games in 1995-96.

No one has been able to contain McDavid this year, as he sits atop the league with 64 goals and 151 points in 80 games, averaging a career-high 1.89 points per game. With two games remaining in the Oilers' regular season, the sport’s most dominant player has already accomplished several notable feats, including:

• Setting career highs in goals, assists and points

• McDavid scored his 300th career goal to become the fifth player in NHL history to reach 300 goals and 500 assists before playing 600 career games, accomplishing the feat in only 481 games.

• McDavid has five different 10-game point streaks this season, breaking Gretzky's NHL record of four in the 1986-87 season.

• Becoming the fastest skater since Pavel Bure in 1999-2000 to score 40 goals in a single season, fourth-fastest to 50 since 1995-96

• Tying Sidney Crosby for the most 100-point seasons (six) by an active NHL player, reaching that feat in just eight seasons, 10 fewer than Crosby

• Passing Nikita Kucherov (128) for the most points in a single season during the salary cap era, starting in 2005-06

• Becoming the first player since Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr in 1995-96 to score more than 130 points in a season.

• Recording the fifth-fastest pace (545 games) to score 800 career points, sixth-fastest (488) to 700 points

• Enjoying a streak of five straight multi-goal performances, joining Alexander Mogilny (1992-93), Mario Lemieux (1988-89), Punch Broadbent (1921-22) and Joe Malone (1920-21) as the only skaters to accomplish that feat.

Upcoming milestones to watch

While McDavid’s 2022-23 performance can already be cemented as one of the greatest in NHL history, the Oilers captain could add more accomplishments to his resume before the regular season wraps up.

The five-time All-Star is just two goals shy of passing Alex Ovechkin (65) for most goals in a season this century.

In just his eighth NHL campaign, McDavid is widely favoured to capture his third MVP award this summer, his second in three seasons. That would tie him with Ovechkin, Lemieux, Bobby Orr, Bobby Clarke and Howie Morenz as players who have a hat trick of Hart Trophies.

Only three players in NHL history have won more than three: Gretzky (nine), Gordie Howe (six) and Eddie Shore (four). But at 26, there is still plenty of time for McDavid to be featured alongside these Hall of Fame icons.

The Richmond Hill, Ont., native is slated to add a new addition to his trophy case in 2022-23: the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy, as he currently sits seven goals ahead of the second-place holder, David Pastrnak. He also leads the Art Ross race by a wide margin, 27 points up on teammate Leon Draisaitl.

McDavid undoubtedly has his sights set on a much larger accomplishment, though: capturing his first Stanley Cup title, which would crown the Oilers as Canada’s first champion since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens.