McDavid Wanted to Score More Goals, So Why Isn't He?

Connor McDavid stood in front of reporters before the season started and made his intentions clear. He wanted to score more goals this season. Not just a few more—he wanted to prove his 64-goal campaign in 2022-23 wasn't a one-off. He wanted to get back to being a goal scorer, not just a playmaker.

"I want to prove that scoring 50 or 60 is not a one-off," McDavid told Sportsnet's Mark Spector. "I've had 50 goals, and I've had 100 assists, and I like the goals a little bit more."

That was the plan. Here's the reality: through 15 games, McDavid has four goals. Four. For a player who scored 64 goals two seasons ago and declared he wanted to prioritize shooting more, four goals through nearly a fifth of the season isn't just disappointing—it's the opposite of what he said he'd do.

McDavid has 14 assists, which means he's producing at over a point-per-game pace and leads the Oilers in scoring. Nobody's questioning his impact or his ability to create offense. But when you publicly commit to being more assertive with your shot and focusing on goal-scoring, four goals in 15 games feels like a disconnect between intention and execution.

The goals-versus-assists debate with McDavid has always been fascinating. In 2022-23, he won the Rocket Richard Trophy with 64 goals and became the first player since Wayne Gretzky in 1986-87 to lead the NHL in both goals and assists in the same season. That was McDavid at his most complete—elite playmaking combined with elite finishing.

Then last season happened. McDavid accumulated 100 assists—a remarkable achievement that only a handful of players in NHL history have ever reached. But his goal total dropped to 32, exactly half of what he scored the year before. It was still a 132-point season, still elite production, but the goal-scoring took a massive hit.

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"I have times where I get the puck in good spots and I'm thinking, 'What's the next play?' When I should be thinking, 'I'm going to score here, I'm going to shoot, or I'm going to take this to the net,'" added McDavid. "That's when my game is at its best."

So the plan was set. Be more assertive. Shoot more. Think scorer-first and playmaker-second. Get back to being the 60-goal threat that makes goalies and defensemen respect his shot as much as his passing.

Fifteen games in, that plan hasn't materialized. McDavid is shooting—he's second on the team with shots on goal—but the puck isn't going in. Whether it's bad luck, good goaltending, or just the reality that scoring 50-60 goals requires everything to work perfectly, the results aren't matching the stated intentions.

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Part of the issue might be the same thing that affected him last season. Injuries have played a role in McDavid's goal-scoring fluctuations. He dealt with an upper-body injury in 2023-24 that was speculated to be an oblique strain—the kind of injury that makes shooting difficult and painful. Last season, it was reported he played through an abdominal injury during the playoffs. When your core is compromised, your shot suffers.

McDavid has also missed games last season. He wasn't fully healthy, which affects everything from shot release to the ability to drive to the net with full power. It's hard to be assertive and aggressive when your body isn't at 100%.

The other factor is deployment. McDavid is still playing the role of a primary playmaker because that's what the Oilers need. Leon Draisaitl has 12 goals already this season. Evan Bouchard has five. The goal-scoring is coming in from other players, which means McDavid falls back into his natural tendency to facilitate rather than finish.

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There's also the power play dynamic. In 2022-23, McDavid fired 55 one-timers and scored 10 goals from them. The next season, he took only 18 one-timers and scored just two goals. The Oilers' power play setup has shifted, and McDavid isn't getting the same looks from his usual spots. 

But none of that changes the fact that McDavid said he wanted to score more goals, wanted to prove the 64-goal season wasn't a fluke, and wanted to be more assertive with his shooting. Four goals in 15 games suggests either the plan changed or the execution isn't there.

Oilers fans have noticed. Social media is filled with comments about McDavid needing to shoot more, pointing out that he's deferring to teammates instead of taking his chances. "Have to shoot to score" one fan wrote, which is obvious but apparently needs repeating. Another was more blunt: "Won't even shoot the puck."

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The frustration is understandable. When the best player in the world tells you he's going to prioritize goal-scoring and then doesn't score goals, it creates questions. Is he still thinking pass-first despite saying he wants to shoot more? Is he deferring too much to teammates? Did injuries derail the plan before it got started?

The season is still young. McDavid has 67 games left to make good on his preseason declaration. He's proven throughout his career that when he commits to shooting more, he can score at elite levels. The 64-goal season wasn't a fluke—it was what happens when McDavid decides to be a goal-scorer first and a playmaker second.

But intentions don't matter if they're not followed by execution. McDavid wanted to score more goals this season. Through 15 games, the results say he's still the same playmaker he's always been—elite, impactful, and productive—but not the goal-scorer he said he wanted to become.

Four goals in 15 games. That's not proving the 64-goal season wasn't a one-off. That's proving old habits are hard to break, even when you publicly commit to changing them.

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