Does McDavid Have What It Takes to Become a Winner Like Crosby?

Connor McDavid has been far and away the best player in the world from almost the moment he stepped foot into the NHL. Before him, Sidney Crosby held the mantle for more than a decade, and with the near-impossible expectation of reaching Crosby’s heights, McDavid has somehow done so with a ridiculous skill set that has translated to otherworldly production and highlight-reel plays on a nightly basis.

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That’s not to say Crosby didn’t do the same, but what McDavid has done in the first half of his career is unlike anything we’ve ever seen. What his idol has done, however, that continues to elude McDavid is winning. Three Stanley Cups, two Olympic gold medals, World Cup of Hockey gold, and a four-nations face-off victory—the list goes on. McDavid, on the other hand, remains stuck on just a four-nations face-off win, having fallen just short in his quest for the trophies that matter most.

There’s been plenty of discussion about why this keeps happening to one of the most talented players to ever lace up skates, and an up-and-down season in Edmonton has only fueled the debate. One Oilers fan recently shared their perspective, suggesting McDavid lacks Crosby’s ability to elevate those around him to push a team over the hump:

“The Oilers have all the talent in the world but lack work ethic, leadership and proper management. Crosby makes everyone around him better. That’s why he won 3x McDavid tries to do it all by himself. That’s the difference. 97 is still the best, but it’s a team sport. Facts,”

The 29-year-old McDavid is in the midst of one of the best seasons of his career, having already racked up 116 points (38 goals, 78 assists) through 71 games. Unfortunately, it hasn’t translated to as much team success as he would like, with Edmonton on pace for its lowest full 82-game regular-season point total (89 points) since 2018-19.

Connor McDavid’s Pursuit of a Championship

It’s certainly not fair to put all of the blame on McDavid, but until he breaks through and wins a Stanley Cup or even Olympic gold, these same questions and conversations will hang around. Alex Ovechkin dealt with it for a long time in Washington, though he never came as agonizingly close as McDavid before finally winning.

Crosby went through his fair share of ups and downs along the way, too, and it certainly helped to capture a championship at 21, relieving a lot of pressure—especially since he didn’t make it back to the finals for another seven years.

When McDavid has lost in the finals or in the recent gold medal game, critics have often said he tries to do too much by himself, as the fan noted. There is some truth to that, but the last three years in particular have shown just how hard it is to win. Hockey is a team sport, and everything has to go right—performance, health, matchups—in order to finish on top in a league with 31 other teams.

All that has stood in the way of McDavid and the Oilers—and Team Canada—is Matthew Tkachuk and the Panthers—and Team USA. If he hadn’t run into the juggernaut that is Florida, we could be talking about a two-time Stanley Cup champion who hasn’t even reached his thirties and still has so much more to give. Instead, he’s still searching for it, and the clock is ticking on his time to do it in Edmonton.

That’s just the fine line when it comes to determining legacy and narrative in sports. The good thing for McDavid is that he still does have time to change it, and with the Pacific Division as weak as ever, the path for the Oilers to get back to the Finals in 2025-26 without running into the Panthers remains clear.

Next: Could Panthers Use a Top-10 Pick to Reunite the Tkachuk Brothers?