Before the 2025-26 season began, the NHL yet again named Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid as the best player in the league. That didn’t come as a surprise to many, as he’s been widely considered so for nearly a decade. Sure, others such as Nathan MacKinnon may get some nods, but the general consensus has continued to be that McDavid leads the way.
It’s hard to argue, as the 28-year-old continues to dominate each and every season. The 2024-25 campaign saw him rack up 100 points in 67 games, an output that to many was considered disappointing. In 2025-26, he’s put up 16 goals and 44 points in 30 games, putting him on pace to score 43 goals and 120 points. It would mark the first time in three seasons that he’s broken the 40-goal marker.
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The Oilers captain has been even better in recent postseasons. In the Oilers’ first run to the Stanley Cup in 2024, he won the Conn Smythe in a losing effort after a ridiculous 42 points in just 25 games. That production slowed down slightly in the 2025 playoffs, though he still had 33 points in only 22 outings. Despite his continued dominance on the stat sheet, however, there are some who believe he may already be on the decline.
McDavid’s Even-Strength Scoring is Down
In a recent column put out by Daily Faceoff, it’s argued that father time is beginning to catch the Oilers captain. The reason being is that just 18 of his 44 points have come at even strength, the lowest pace of his NHL career.
“McDavid just isn’t the same cheat code he was in his mid-20s at even-strength,” the author wrote. “Ruling? Father Time offers four months of parole to prove he’s still better than Nathan MacKinnon.”
What this author, and others who criticize McDavid forget, is that points, regardless of whether they come shorthanded, at even strength, or on the power play, all count the same. His current point pace has him set to hit the 120 marker for the fourth time in his extraordinary career. Hardly a decline.
If anything, it should be stated that at this point in his career, McDavid has racked up more than enough personal accolades to continue exerting full energy each and every game throughout the regular season in an attempt to rack up hardware. Much like we saw from Sidney Crosby many, many years ago, the Oilers superstar has learned different ways to ensure he still has plenty of gas left in the tank once the playoffs roll around.
As already mentioned, McDavid is just 28 years of age. That is still very much prime years for most NHLers, let alone one who will eventually go down as one of the best to ever play the game. In a league where the 38-year-old Crosby has 31 points in 28 games, while 39-year-old Evgeni Malkin has 29 points in 26 outings, suggesting McDavid is already on the decline is completely asinine. Heck, even Alex Ovechkin at the age of 40 has 14 goals and 29 points in 30 contests.
McDavid is No Where Near Finished
These types of sentiments from outsiders are often what the game’s best players are forced to endure. Early on in McDavid’s career, there were some who tried to say Auston Matthews was better. Once it became clear that wasn’t the case, those same types started suggesting it was MacKinnon. Whenever you’re at the top, you’re always going to have people try to knock you down.
The same thing happened for Crosby, where, for a stretch of his career, there were some who tried to suggest Jonathan Toews was a better player. That, of course, was foolish at the time, and seems even more ridiculous to think about now.
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That’s exactly what this latest narrative is regarding McDavid; ridiculous. Those who have closely watched the Oilers this season can tell you that his speed continues to remain elite, and he’s started to find the back of the net with a lot more regularity now that he’s shooting more. Whether he racks up any hardware this season remains to be seen, but hockey fans shouldn’t expect him to be falling off the league leaderboards anytime soon.
