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Connor McDavid is arguably the brightest star in the NHL.
Edmonton Oilers captain is a four-time NHL All-Star.
He is also a productive goal scorer who wins Art Ross Trophy five times as the player leading the NHL in points in regular season.
McDavid also shares similarities to hockey legend Wayne Gretzky. McDavid and Gretzky are the only two players appointed NHL MVP by unanimous vote. While Gretzky is often called “The Great,” he thinks McDavid is the biggest active NHL player.
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Connor McDavid, Left, from Edmonton Oilers and Wayne Gretzky from Edmonton Oilers Alumni is for a photo after goodbye to Rexall Place Ceremony after a match against Vancouver Canucks 6 April 2016 at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)
“No doubt he’s the best player in hockey,” Gretzky said during a guest performance at ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“Unselical young man. He loves to play in Edmonton, loves to be captain of Oilers. Desperate wants a Stanley Cup, that’s what he wants, cares for it most. Great for our game, great for the city of Edmonton. What a year. Scored the winning goal in the Four Nations Cup in overtime.”
For the second year in a row, Oilers and Florida Panthers meet in the Stanley Cup final. McDavid and Oilers took Game 1 in the series Wednesday night.
Oilers draw first Blood in the Stanley Cup Final Rematch with 4-3 Overtime victory against Panthers
The 4-3 win was a Come-From-Bag victory for Edmonton, who was down 3-1 at one point in the game. But Oilers scored three unanswered goals for a declaration victory at their home ice cream.
Connor McDavid after the third period in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals in the NHL Hockey Stanley Cup end game 29 May 2025 in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
After tying the game during the third period of three, there was a need for an overtime period to determine the winner of Game 1.
When Oilers had a man advantage, McDavid capitalized by making a fine plate pass for teammate Leon Draisaitl, who flew in front of the net to get the puck past Panthers’ goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky.
Edmonton Oilers Center Connor McDavid (97) skates past Florida Panthers Center Brad Marchand (63) in the first period in Game 1 of the 2025 Stanley Cup final at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, June 4, 2025. (Walter Tychnowicz/Imag images)
Gretzky, who works as a NHL analyst for TNT broadcasts, predicted how McDavid’s Assist would create teammate Mattias Ekholm to do what ended up being the game-bound goal in the third period of Wednesday’s Matchup with Panthers.
“They stifle them. They are really playing smart. They play Rick Tocchet’s defense. They’ve got it forward in the middle,” Gretzky said during the second break. “They’ve given them the outside. Connor will have to take it around the net or stop and hit the deceased guy because they cut off everything going to the net.”
Gretzky then admitted that his prediction was “luck” before he praised McDavid.
“He’s the best player in the world,” Gretzky said. “He knows what he’s doing. I was just lucky with that statement.”
Game 2 is scheduled for Friday at Rogers Place in Edmonton. The series switches to South Florida for games 3 and 4.
