Former NHLer says McDavid can't be considered a superstar yet; adds Buffalo did right thing with Eichel

At just 24 years of age, it already seems like Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers has been dominating the NHL for years. He is arguably the best player on the planet when it comes to offense, and continues to dazzle night in and night out with phenomenal moves. That said, one former NHLer believes McDavid can't yet be considered a superstar in the league.

"As long as you haven't taken a team to the Stanley Cup final or, God willing, won it, you're not a superstar," said Alexei Zhitnik in a wide ranging interview with Championat.com. "For example, Ovechkin was and is a great player, but once he won the Stanley Cup... For North America, that's the mark. You can win the Olympics, the World Cup, but they don't care. If you win the Stanley Cup, it's a marker."

Zhitnik, who played parts of 10 seasons with the Buffalo Sabres during his lengthy NHL career, was also asked about his former team's situation with Jack Eichel and his trade request.

"Yeah. The guy's young, I've seen him live a couple of times, but he's not the caliber to lead a team," said Zhitnik. "Yes, he's a good player, a thinker, a player, but he's not a leader, so to speak. This whole spinal situation has kept nobody moving in the right direction. Buffalo was right to trade him. Time will tell who's right and who's wrong. The club needs to focus on a different direction, different moments. All that is already in the past."


Zhitnik played 1085 regular season games in the NHL. The former defenceman was a two-time All-Star in the league, and also won Olympic and World Junior Championship gold with Russia. He did not, however, win a Stanley Cup in his career. Despite being from Ukraine and playing in the KHL at one point, Zhitnik did admit in his interview that he follows the NHL much more closely than the KHL.