Oilers' McDavid Hits 1,000-Point Mark: NHL Superstar Continues To Add To Legacy

When NHL superstar Connor McDavid reached the 1,000-point plateau against the Nashville Predators Thursday night, he joined an exclusive club.

He became the 99th player ever to get 1,000 points and did so at the very young age of 27 after less than nine seasons in hockey’s top league. The way he did that in only 659 regular-season games is even more impressive, making him the fourth-fastest player to achieve that milestone.

McDavid has been one of the most consistent elite players in hockey history, posting at least 30 goals in every 82-game season after his rookie year of 2015-16. McDavid has also never generated fewer than 63 assists and 97 points after his rookie campaign – and those low-mark numbers came in 2019-20, when he appeared in only 64 games before the pandemic ended the regular season early.

McDavid’s points-per-game average of 1.51 puts him in third place all-time in that department, ahead of the late Mike Bossy (1.50) and Bobby Orr (1.39) and behind only Mario Lemieux (1.88) and Wayne Gretzky (1.92). Both Lemieux and Gretzky played in an era where offense was much easier to come by than it is at present. McDavid came into the league heralded as a potential all-time great, and he’s more than lived up to that status.

He has five Art Ross Trophies, one Rocket Richard Trophy, four Ted Lindsay Awards, three Hart Trophies and one Conn Smythe Trophy. Of course, you need to win some Stanley Cups to truly cement yourself as one of the greatest to ever do it.

Although McDavid came within a single win of claiming his first Cup this past season, it would shock no one if he led the Oilers to a championship season this year or sometime before he hangs up the skates after another decade or so.

Related: Oilers' McDavid Nears 1,000 Points, But Patrick Roy Won't Compare Him To Gretzky And Lemieux

McDavid is now one of the top 100 players in total points, ahead of Jason Spezza (995) and just behind former stars Brian Propp (1,004), Lanny McDonald, (1,006), Steve Larmer (1,012) and Pat LaFontaine (1,013). McDavid is going to catapult up that career points list the rest of this season, and if he produces points at the same pace he’s been on, he’ll be challenging Mark Messier (1,887) and Jaromir Jagr (1,921) for third and second place all-time, respectively.

Gretzky’s top point total of 2,857 will almost certainly be too much for McDavid to match or eclipse. But so long as he stays healthy, McDavid is going to be right up there with the best of the best when it comes to point production.

McDavid’s injury that sidelined him for a short span has postponed his 1,000-point celebration, but McDavid is a leviathan when it comes to putting up points. His next 10 seasons will see him ascend through the history books and underscore his talent as something the sport has rarely seen.

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