The ESPN Fantasy Projections for the 2023-24 season are a bit strange - nothing stranger than their take on Connor McDavid's season.
To say that the Edmonton Oilers' captain - Connor McDavid - is the best player in the NHL playing is not a stretch. He has the personal accolades to back it up. The only thing missing is the hardest trophy to win in all of sports, the Stanley Cup.
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He shares some records only former players such as Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux were able to attain. Despite these accomplishments, some corners of the industry are not giving him the recognition that should be awarded to him.
Connor McDavid.ESPN's Projections have McDavid scoring 61 goals, 87 assists for a total of 148 points. That's a drop of five points from this most recent 2022-23 regular season. ESPN has the next highest player on the list McDavid's teammate - Leon Draisaitl, a mere 19 points behind him.
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The most incredible thing about the season that McDavid just had was how sustainable his production was. With the exception of one season he has shot at least 14% in every other season. He had a surprisingly low amount of secondary assists. Most players hover around 45-55% - McDavid's secondary assist rate has been 32.6 %, 38% and 30% over the past three seasons. The icing on the cake is his even strength shooting percentage. Over the last four years it has been 9.5 (2022-23), 8.5 (2021-22), 11.1 (2020-21) & 11.3 (2019-20). In short, he could be scoring more even strength goals AND getting more secondary assists to add onto his (already) amazing production.
Connor McDavid.McDavid isn't done impressing the hockey world. The next item on his list is the Stanley Cup. He will do everything in his power to make that happen for the Oilers. It's who he is, it's in his blood. He's going to move mountains to reach his goal, and he just might score 165 points along the way.
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