Dan Wetzel
To be considered the greatest player in the history of the Edmonton Oilers is to be considered the greatest player in the history of hockey.
Connor McDavid has, at least in the eyes of his family, been projected to contend for the latter since his father lied about his age so the little wonderkid who was rollerblading and blasting shots down in the basement could join an actual youth league before he was allowed. Connor was 3 at the time.
McDavid has been projected, at least among the dreams of Oiler fans, to contend for the former since the stars aligned in 2015 and Edmonton had first overall pick just as he turned 18, fresh off a junior season where he racked up 120 points in just 47 games.
And so Wayne Gretzky’s old team got the next — maybe — Wayne Gretzky; the hockey gods paying the franchise and fan base back 27 years after the original bailed out on a Stanley Cup juggernaut for Los Angeles.
Gretzky remains Gretzky, even all these years later, a seemingly impossible comparison to meet, just a record book full of cartoon numbers.
Yet it’s not stats that Oiler fans covet. It’s not even the nightly brilliance of how McDavid pulls off his goals and his assists. All of that is fun, especially across those cold Northern Alberta winters and into outdoor summer watch parties.
In the end, though, the NHL is all about the Stanley Cup and only the Stanley Cup, something Edmonton hasn’t seen since 1990.
Enter McDavid and Friday night, Game 6 back home, trailing Florida 3-2 but with a chance to do something not even Gretzky ever did — bring a team back from a 3-0 deficit in the Final. It hasn’t been done by anyone since 1942. Read More
