It took Connor McDavid a little under 10 years to reach 1,000 points, so what are the odds he becomes just the second player in NHL history to reach 2,000?
It’ll be close, but his teammates don’t rule out a 37-year-old McDavid still turning heads and joining Wayne Gretzky (2,857) in the Two Grand Club.
“If not him, who else?” asked Leon Draisaitl, who set up McDavid for No. 1,000 and 1,001 in Thursday night’s 3-2 overtime win against Nashville. “That’s the only question I have. I never bet against Connor McDavid. I’ve learned that over the last 10 years. It wouldn’t surprise me.”
Who else? Nobody, that’s who.
At 27 years of age McDavid is the fourth-youngest and the fourth fastest to reach the 1,000-point mark. Only all-time greats Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Mike Bossy did it quicker. Beyond that, nobody outside of Hall of Fame legends from the 80s and 90s is even in the same neighbourhood. Nobody from the current era of active players is even close to 1,000 points in 659 games.
Among the current guns in the NHL, Nikita Kucherov is at 740 games and 897 points. Nathan MacKinnon is at 808 games and 932 points. Auston Matthews, at 575 games and 660 points, needs 340 points in his next 84 games to match what McDavid just did.
Among the previous generation of greats, Sidney Crosby needed 757 games top reach 1,000, Evgeni Malkin needed 848, Alex Ovechkin needed 880 and Patrick Kane needed 953.
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