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Connor McDavid is possibly the brightest star of the NHL.
Edmonton Oilers captain is four times all-star of the NHL.
It is also a prolific scorer, winning the Art Ross trophy five times as the player leading the NHL at regular season points.
McDavid also shares similarities with the Wayne Gretzky hockey legend. McDavid and Gretzky are the only two players called NHL MVP by unanimous vote. While Gretzky is often known as “El Grande”, he believes McDavid is the best active NHL player.
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Connor McDavid, left, of the Edmonton Oilers and Wayne Gretzky of the former students of Edmonton Oilers pose for a photo after the farewell ceremony of Rexall Place after a game against the Vancouver Canucks on April 6, 2016, in Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Andy Devlin/Nhli through Getty Images)
“There is no doubt, he is the best player in hockey,” Gretzky said during an invited appearance in “The Pat Mcafee Show” by ESPN.
“A selfless young man loves playing in Edmonton, he loves to be the captain of the oilers. He desperately wants a Stanley Cup, that’s what matters most. Great for our game, great for the city of Edmonton. What year. What year. The winning goalkeeper in the Cup of four nations in extra time.”
For the second consecutive year, the Oilers and Florida Panthers meet in the Stanley Cup final. McDavid and the Oilers took game 1 of the series on Wednesday night.
The Oilers draw the first blood in the final rematch of the Stanley Cup with 4-3 Victoria in extra time against Panthers
The 4-3 victory was a victory behind for Edmonton, which was reduced 3-1 at a time of the game. But the Oilers scored three goals without response for a victory for statement in their local ice.
Connor McDavid after the third period of game 5 of the Western Conference Finals at the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs on May 29, 2025 in Dallas. (Photo AP/Julio Cortez)
After binding the game in the third period at three, an extra period of time was needed to determine the winner of game 1.
When the oilers had an advantage of a man, McDavid capitalized when making an ingenious saucer pass to the teammate Leon Draisaitl, who flew in front of the network to pass the album beyond the Panthers goalkeeper, Sergei Bobrovsky.
The Edmonton Oilers center, Connor McDavid (97), skates beyond the center of Florida Panthers Brad Marchand (63) during the first period in game 1 of the final of the Stanley 2025 Cup in Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, June 4, 2025. (Walter Tychnowicz/images imagn)
Gretzky, who works as a NHL analyst for TNT broadcasts, predicted how McDavid’s assistance would establish his teammate Mattias Ekholm to do what ended up being the game goal in the third period of Wednesday’s confrontation with the Panthers.
“They are suffocating them. They are playing very intelligent. They are playing the defense of Rick Tocchet. They have advanced it in the middle,” Gretzky said during the second intermediate. “They have given them the outside. Connor will have to take him by the network or stop and hit the deceased, because they are cutting everything by going to the network.”
Gretzky admitted that his prediction was “luck”, before praising McDavid.
“He is the best player in the world,” said Gretzky. “He knows what he is doing. I just have luck with that statement.”
Game 2 is scheduled for Friday at Rogers Place in Edmonton. The series changes south of Florida for games 3 and 4.
