McDavid can only get better with Oilers, NHL All-Stars, legends say

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Connor McDavid had the last word. As usual.

Asked why he did not take part in the Fastest Skater competition at the All-Star Skills on Friday, the Edmonton Oilers center replied, "I wanted to show I can do other things."
After going 8-for-8 in the Accuracy Shooting event, the question of what can't he do on this ice was raised again.
But the bigger question being asked during All-Star Weekend was what is the ceiling for the 26-year old?
"In terms of a player, he's not even in his prime yet, which is pretty darn hard to believe," Hall of Fame defenseman Paul Coffey said. "He's just going to get more mature and keep getting better."
Given what he's accomplished and what he's doing this season, that's a scary thought for the rest of the NHL.
He's already won the Art Ross Trophy, which goes to the NHL's leading scorer, four times, and he's won the Hart Trophy, awarded to the league MVP, twice.
This season, the Oilers captain has 92 points in 50 games, 16 more points than the next closest player, teammate Leon Draisaitl.
"He's from a different planet," Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin said.
Indeed, McDavid comes ouf the All-Star break with an opportunity to put up numbers not seen in more than two decades.
With his 41 goals and 51 assists, he is on pace to have 150 points in a season, something that hasn't been done since Pittsburgh Penguins forward Mario Lemieux had 161 (69 goals, 92 assists) in 1995-96.
His chance to get there resumes when when the Oilers visit the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SN).
Mention to him the prospect of joining Lemieux in that elite company and McDavid stick-handles around the subject as quickly as he does defenders. His only goals, he said, are team oriented.
"To be honest, I'm not putting much thought into it," he said. "I'm just focused on the group and trying to help our team win. We have a lot of players doing special things and our focus is on team success.
"It's about the team. It always has been. And that's what we're building toward. We're in a tight race in the Western Conference."
The Oilers (28-18-4), who were swept by the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final last season, hold the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the West. They entered the All-Star break on a 7-1-2 streak, a run McDavid said, "we can build momentum on."
"It hasn't been easy at all for our group," he said. "We've kind of had to battle for everything that we've got, and I like that. We're starting to find a little bit of traction and we've always been a second-half team, for whatever reason. Ever since my first year, we've always been better in the second half. So, we'll definitely look to continue that.
"That being said, we're not going to hang our hat on that and expect that to carry us to the playoffs. There's a lot of work to be done. And I'm looking forward to get back and get started."
All the while, many players around the NHL are eager to see what new heights McDavid can bring his game to, as long as it's not against them.
Case in point: brothers
Seth
and Caleb Jones, defensemen with the Chicago Blackhawks. Caleb was McDavid's teammate in Edmonton his first three seasons in the NHL (2018-2021).
"I actually had a bet this summer, me and Caleb, it was the 150-point marker," Seth said. "Caleb thought he'd get more and I thought he'd be just under that.
"I don't know who is going to win. It looks like he's going to win at the moment, but it's going to be close."
McDavid is averaging 1.84 points per game, which has him on pace for exactly 150. Wayne Gretzky (nine times), Lemieux (four), Steve Yzerman, Phil Esposito and Bernie Nichols (one each) are the only players to hit 150 points in a season.
"Probably his goal has to be 164, probably two points a game," Montreal Canadiens forward Nick Suzuki said. "I think that would be really impressive.
"I don't know what his ceiling is going to be."
It certainly will be fun to find out.
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It's a steamy afternoon in Fort Lauderdale, and Hockey Hall of Famers and former Oilers Coffey and Mark Messier are discussing what lies ahead for McDavid.
"These are the beginnings of the peak years of his career," said Messier, who is an analyst for ESPN. "And it's interesting to see if he can keep pushing his own limits. I mean, he's far surpassing most players that have ever played the game."
When it comes to the subject of elite players of today and yesteryear, Coffey and Messier would know.
Messier is third in NHL scoring with 1,887 points (694 goals, 1,193 assists) in 1,756 games with the Oilers, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks, trailing only Gretzky (2,857) and Jaromir Jagr (1,921). Coffey ranks 14th with 1,531 points (396 goals, 1,135 assists) and is second in defenseman scoring behind Ray Bourque (1,579).

Coffey, Messier and Gretzky won the Stanley Cup three times with the Oilers (1984, 1985, 1987). They know what greatness is. And now, as McDavid strives to reach new heights, they agree they are seeing it again.
McDavid's strength has always been his elite skating, which has led to comparisons with Coffey over the years for the ability to pull away from opponents with a singular stride. But Coffey says there is much more to that aspect of McDavid's game than speed.
"There's a lot of fast skaters who have played the game. A lot," Coffey said. "But not a lot that can skate at that speed with that little black thing on their stick and still accomplish what he does.
"I often wonder when he's going that fast, his legs are going that fast, how slow his mind is. By that, I mean, I bet you he has that uncanny ability you can't teach just to slow everything down in his mind even though he's going at that speed.
"But make no mistake about Connor. He's very, very aware of who's on the ice, who he's playing against, where they are in their shift in terms of time, if he can beat them if he can. He's a very intelligent player."
And one who is continuously evolving in his role as captain, Messier says.
On Oct. 5, 2016, McDavid became the youngest captain in NHL history (19 years, 266 days) and the 15th for Edmonton, following in the footsteps of greats like Gretzky and Messier. It was a tough slog for the then-teenager, who often seemed uncomfortable in front of the television cameras and was much more at home inside the confines of the dressing room.
These days he seems far more at ease with those duties. As the face of the franchise and, for that matter, the NHL, he was patient and engaging during his All-Star Weekend media availabilities, something that Messier acknowledged.
Perhaps no one in hockey is better qualified to judge how someone can or is handling a captaincy than Messier, who is the only player to captain two teams to a Stanley Cup title (1990 Oilers, 1994 Rangers). Every season since 2006-07, the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award is presented "to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season and who plays a leading role in his community growing the game of hockey."
Messier feels McDavid has grown into a role that was tough to fill for anyone, let alone a teenager at a time.
"The thing about when you've become a captain at that early stage of your career is, you don't even know what you don't know," Messier said. "And sometimes it can be detrimental to some players because of all the demands and pressures that come along with leading a team and the expectations that come along with that. At least with Connor, guys could watch and learn from his example because he's one of the hardest workers I've ever seen, not ever taking a shift off, let alone a game.
"I think more importantly for Connor, when you're in a leadership position, I think what you learn very quickly is that hard decisions have to be made and if you're looking to be in a popularity contest, even with your own team, sometimes you've got to put that aside and say what needs to be said. Nobody can question the fact that he can go out and back up his own words and the demands that he's putting on his other players. I think he's learning all that and it's evident in the way that he's interacting with his own teammates, not only off the ice, which we don't get to see but certainly on the ice and on the bench.
"It's becoming more evident that he's feeling much more comfortable in that position."
McDavid's actions during the Oilers' 7-3 victory against the Blackhawks on Jan. 29 served as an example of that.
With 2:26 remaining in the game and Edmonton holding a comfortable lead, McDavid, in what he calls a "group decision," suggested to coach Jay Woodcroft that they replace Jack Campbell with Matt Berlin in goal. Berlin, an emergency backup goalie, dressed for the game after Stuart Skinner came down with an illness. He got into the game and made a blocker save on the only shot he faced, coming from Caleb Jones from the left point with 48 seconds left, drawing a loud roar from the crowd.
Some viewed the move as a dig at the struggling Blackhawks, but McDavid, showing the type of leadership he's becoming known for, quickly made sure Chicago players knew his motivation.
"We meant no disrespect to Chicago. and I actually talked to (Seth) Jones about it while we were here," McDavid said of a conversation he had with the Blackhawks defenseman during the All-Star festivities.
"It's obviously every young hockey kid's dream to play in the NHL. And if you can make that happen for him for two minutes, I think it's something you should do."

The 25-year-old goalie, who is in his third season with the University of Alberta, signed an amateur tryout contract on an emergency basis earlier in the day once Skinner was deemed unavailable.
"I definitely think it's something he enjoyed," McDavid said.
The gesture was yet another example of McDavid's growth, Messier said.
"Like I said, he's getting a little more experienced and comfortable in his position," Messier said. "Now he's trying to figure out how he's going to help the organization and the team win and what his role is in that.
"That's a big step for any young player, especially a young player that was named captain as early as he was."
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As McDavid's ascension toward the record book resumes entering the final 32 games of the season, many of his peers around the League readily admit he has by far established himself as the best player in the sport.
"It's inspiring to see someone be that great," Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon said. "It makes you want to get better. That's how I feel when I see him. It makes you want to strive for something.
"Greatness in any sport is special. For me, it's awesome to see. It's really cool. I know I won't be as good as him no matter how hard I work, but I appreciate what he's doing and how he does it."
Interestingly, McDavid doesn't see himself that way.
Instead, he sees warts and blemishes in his game where the outside world doesn't, whether it comes to being a better goal-scorer or being more proficient in the face-off circle.
With 41 goals in 50 games, he's three shy of his NHL career high set last season. That puts him on pace to finish the season with 67 goals, the most since Lemieux scored 69 in 1995-96.
"I think it's me focusing on shooting the puck a little bit more, taking the puck to the net," he said. "I've kind of always been a pass-first guy and take the best available play. I've never been an elite goal-scorer. I always create chances and I've always gotten chances but you know, for some reason this year it's going in."

McDavid said he watches elite scorers like Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews to get tips.
"I'm always working on my game, always shooting pucks," he said.
Sherwood Bassin can attest to that.
Bassin was general manager of Erie of the Ontario Hockey League from 1996-2015 and spent part of that time as the team's owner. McDavid played there from 2012-15.
"This kid works like no other," Bassin said. "He's never satisfied. Never. And that's why he hasn't scratched the surface of his greatness yet."
Bassin recalled visiting McDavid at his home during a sweltering summer day about five years ago. McDavid already had worked out for four hours that morning.
"His garage door is closed," Bassin said. "I walk in there and he's on roller blades, shooting a puck, going to the other end to get another one, then rolling down and shooting again. On and on. It was so hot in there.
"I said, 'What are you doing and why?' He said 'I have to keep working on my shot. I don't like where it's at.' That's him. He's always looking to get better. And he's so humble about it dating back to his first training camp with us in 2012."
On that day, Bassin watched McDavid step on the ice in his blue-and-white equipment from the Toronto Marlboros, his minor hockey organization, rather than Otters gear. Bassin asked the kid why.
"Because I haven't made the team yet," McDavid told Bassin.
Bassin shakes his head to this day about that response.
"Can you imagine?"
McDavid has come a long way since then. According to Bassin, the best is yet to come.
"Early in his first camp with us, I brought Ryan O'Reilly in to work with him," Bassin said. "He'd played for us with the Otters from 2007-09. He stayed after practice with him one day working on face-offs. After 30 minutes, Ryan came to me and said: 'This kid is so talented, he's going to be teaching me things soon.
"And look what he's doing now. It's going to be fun watching him the rest of the season, the rest of his career."
Messier agrees.
"People should enjoy seeing what he does down the stretch here the next couple of months, not to mention the rest of the season," he said. "And they'd better appreciate him.
"They're watching the elite of the elite of the elite. And he's only getting better."