Edmonton Oilers: Connor McDavid hopes to score more
Even after winning two consecutive Art Ross Trophies, Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid hopes to continue to improve. His next objective? Score more goals.
The Edmonton Oilers were one of the NHL’s most disappointing teams during the 2017-18 season. However, it sure wasn’t due to team captain Connor McDavid. He built off his 2016-17 season, during which he won the Art Ross Trophy and Hart Trophy, and actually wound up besting his totals. McDavid set a career-high with 41 goals as he ironed out one of the very few things he didn’t do at an elite level – score goals.
Going into a critical 2018-19 season, the Oilers captain isn’t satisfied. In fact, McDavid wants to score even more goals.
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“I’ve always said I want to score more,” McDavid said, via NHL.com. “You just want to continue on the growth that I think I’ve been on. [There are] always ways to improve your game and be more dangerous and dynamic.”
McDavid’s 41 goals last season were sixth in the NHL. So if he’s focused on scoring more goals, the rest of the league should be on notice. McDavid’s goal scoring isn’t elite yet, but it’s quickly approaching that level.
But here’s the problem. It might not matter how much McDavid improves his goal scoring. The Oilers wasted a Hart Trophy calibre season from their captain. McDavid posted 108 points and Edmonton still managed to finish 20th in the league in goals scored (234).
Hockey is a sport where it’s almost impossible for a team to rely heavily on one player. Elite goaltenders can do it, but they’re very rare. Unlike the NBA and even the NFL, the best forwards only play roughly one-third of the game. Anze Kopitar led all forwards (minimum 40 games played) in ice time per game, and even he only played about 22 minutes per game.
LeBron James can play virtually the entire game and carry his team if he needs to. The best forwards in the NHL can’t do that and remain effective. Edmonton is a great team when McDavid is on the ice. The Oilers were a playoff calibre team when he was on the ice.
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However, without McDavid, they were far worse off. Unless the Oilers become at least a respectable team without him, it doesn’t really matter how many goals McDavid scores because they will probably lose. That’s not an indictment on the captain. Rather, the front office and coaching staff should be the ones to blame. Because when you have a generational talent like McDavid, not making the playoffs is unacceptable.