Connor McDavid is him

Connor+McDavid+is+him

Andrew Forsyth, Sports Writer

Connor McDavid is a generational athlete, and it’s not up for debate. He’s not up for debate.

I think Connor McDavid is the best athlete on the planet when considering the main four sports in the US. The reasoning is that when you look at the gap between McDavid and the second-best player in the NHL, it is more significant than any other gap when you look at the major sports in the US.

McDavid finished the season with 82 games played. He scored 64 goals and 84 assists for a total of 150 points. He joins an elite list of only five players to achieve this feat. Those being Wayne Gretzky, Steve Yzerman, Mario Lemieux, Phil Esposito, and Bernie Nichols.

What is so crazy is fans aren’t even really shocked that he did it. Last season Auston Matthews hit 60 goals, and everyone was shocked, and nobody thought we’d see that again. Well, McDavid took that personally and decided to have a historic season. Looking at the overall stats, there isn’t anybody necessarily close to him, either.

Second in points was Leon Draisaitl, who is his teammate who had 128 points. Then Nikita Kucherov with 113 points. He has almost 30 points more than the next player. So he is no argument the best player.

I say he is the best athlete, and I believe he is the best athlete in the world due to the gap between him and his peers. For example, Patrick Mahomes is seen, for the most part, as the best player in the NFL, but it isn’t as definitive as McDavid is.

There are excellent and fair arguments for players like Josh Allen being the best in the NFL. And if it’s not Josh Allen, then it’s Joe Burrow or even Lamar Jackson. Mahomes has a much smaller gap between him and the guy who is second to him. Whereas with McDavid, it’s not even close to being an argument. You can’t argue he isn’t the best player in the NHL.

It goes the same for the NBA, there are 3-4 guys at any given moment who are considered the best player in the league, and those arguments can go on forever. Whether it’s KD, Lebron, Steph, Jayson Tatum, or even Giannis or Joel Embiid. The argument is very close and heated, whereas McDavid is the guy.

Then in the MLB, it is the very same kind of argument. Most will say it is Shohei Ohtani, but there are fair arguments just as much for someone like Mike Trout to be at the top of that list and the number one player. You don’t have this with McDavid; sometimes someone will say it’s close, then you’ll see his numbers again and realize it’s nowhere close.

McDavid is consistently the best player in the NHL on a season-to-season basis and will continue this level of play, assuming he stays healthy. His face should be everywhere. The NHL would have this guy’s face on every city billboard.

Connor McDavid is the guy to grow the game. The answer for the NHL becoming more popular in the states? Making sure Connor McDavid is showcased every night.

Don’t let him have these unreal nights then have them on at 10 PM on the east coast. He is the guy. Connor McDavid is prolific. In a word, McDavid is him.