Well, who would have thought the player directly responsible as a consultant in re-formatting the 2024 NHL All-Star Skills Competition would have been named to the All-Star Game? Or maybe scoring 900 points in 602 career games with a five-point night could have been a better indicator? Or maybe, just simply being the best player in the game, Connor McDavid was the clear shoo-in as the Edmonton Oilers’ representative.
Connor McDavid gets the All-Star nod
This will mark McDavid’s seventh All-Star appearance. So far this season, he’s posted 14 goals and 39 assists. His 53 points have him ranked third in the league, only behind Nikita Kucherov‘s 63 and Nathan MacKinnon‘s 61 points.
McDavid had a slow start to his season in the offensive production category, as did the Oilers as a team. In his first 11 games, he posted just 10 points—two goals and eight assists. He was injured for a couple of games, and also went on a three-game pointless streak in this span. By no means was his production bad, it was just not the McDavidian levels of scoring he should have been at, especially not after a 153-point season last year.
However, since then, he’s been scoring at his more usual clip, and has been pivotal in Edmonton’s turnaround since firing Jay Woodcroft after a 3–9–1 start to the season. Those days feel like ancient history as the Oilers have been on a tear. They won eight games in a row, lost three straight, and then answered right back with a current six-game winning streak. Their 19–15–1 record isn’t dissimilar from previous years at the turn of the calendar.
The Oilers don’t see this bounceback without the play of McDavid. Plain and simple.
Potential Oilers to join McDavid
With the way the Oilers have played, there are a few candidates who could be getting the fan votes to join him.
Leon Draisaitl is second on the team in scoring and is the easy choice. However, more players could get the nod. Zach Hyman is definitely one of the most intriguing options as he could see a return to Toronto as an All-Star, but arguments could be made for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evan Bouchard as well, the latter of whom could be in line for some Norris Trophy votes by season’s end.
Long story short, expect the Oilers to be well-represented at the 2024 NHL All-Star Game.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
One Comment