McDavid Has Taken Complete Responsibility for the Oilers

Sometimes, you watch a hockey player and run out of things to say. Connor McDavid is getting pretty close to that point this season. What else is there to write? He scores, sets up goals, drives the play, and makes the people around him look better. Then he goes out and does it all over again.

Saturday night in Utah was another example. McDavid scored twice, added three assists, and finished plus-4 in the Edmonton Oilers' 6-2 win over the Mammoth. That's five points in one game. After eight games, he has six goals and 17 assists. He hasn't been held off the scoresheet once. And those 17 assists match a record shared by Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux for the most assists through a player's first eight games of a season.

That's pretty remarkable company.

Is Connor McDavid Determined to Make This Season Different?

Here's what I keep coming back to: McDavid looks like a man on a mission. He's always been an extraordinary player. Nobody needs a reminder of that. But there's something about the way he's attacking this season that makes you wonder whether he's determined to make absolutely sure the Edmonton Oilers get where they want to go.

There's an interesting wrinkle here, too. McDavid was part of the process that brought Mike Babcock into the picture as a coaching candidate. You have to wonder whether that connection adds another layer of personal investment. Perhaps he feels a little extra responsibility to help make things work. That's speculation, of course, and we shouldn't pretend to know what's going through his head. But watching him this season, it's hard not to wonder whether he's decided he's going to do everything in his power to make this team successful.

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McDavid isn't just piling up points. He's driving the Oilers, creating opportunities, and making the players around him look good. That doesn't mean his teammates lack talent. Edmonton has plenty of good hockey players. But even good players benefit when the best player in the world is playing at this level. He opens up space, draws attention, and gives everyone else more room to operate.

The remarkable thing is that he makes this look almost routine. Five points in a game should leave us shaking our heads. With McDavid, we're already wondering what he'll do next.

Connor McDavid Is on a Gretzky-Like Tear. Let's Appreciate It While We Can.

We spend plenty of time in hockey talking about what's wrong, who's underperforming, and which team is headed for trouble. Fair enough. That's part of being a fan and writing about the game. But sometimes, we should stop and appreciate what we're watching.

McDavid is in one of the best stretches of his career, and there's no guarantee we'll see this exact version of him again. He's already established himself as one of the great players of his generation. What he's doing now is another reminder of just how special he is.

For Oilers fans, it's a treat. For the rest of us, it's worth putting aside the rivalries for a moment and enjoying the show. When a player is this good, you don't need to manufacture a story. You just need to watch.

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