McDavid Can Crack 160 Points if Deployed Correctly

Caleb Kerney

Jul 20, 2023, 13:52

Caleb Kerney

Jul 20, 2023, 13:52

Connor McDavid is a special teams wizard and can further cement his greatness while on the penalty kill.

Many have spoken about the truly incredible success that the Edmonton Oilers have had on the power play over the last five years - culminating in their record breaking conversion rate this past season. Leading the charge on the man advantage was Connor McDavid and his 71 power play points.

The only player in league history to get more power play points than McDavid in a season is Mario Lemieux. The top three power play point totals are 80, 79 and 79, all three records held by Lemieux. Wayne Gretzky's personal record was 61 - which illustrates how dominate of a player he was at even strength.

There is one stat that has slipped under the radar from a lot of people who have been dissecting the 2022-23 regular season. McDavid had seven short-handed points. That would put McDavid third in the league for short-handed points behind the Vancouver Canucks duo of J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson. The Oilers coaching staff utilized the star forward a lot more on the penalty kill this past season. McDavid had only skated for 12 seconds or less on average whenever the team was short-handed. In 2022-23 he saw a career high of 1:16 on the penalty kill. With more time on ice short-handed it is reasonable to believe that McDavid could get more short-handed points. Will the coaching staff give him more short-handed minutes next year?

We know that McDavid is an incredibly competitive player - and now that he has seen more time on the penalty kill, is that the way that the Oilers get better while down a skater? Is that how McDavid finally cracks 160 points? With the way he has developed as a player in the NHL, I wouldn't be surprised.

Related: Oilers 2023 Off-Season Guide