June 8, 2024 by Eric Friesen

While he’s undoubtedly one of the most dominant offensive players in NHL history, Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid has never been driven by personal achievements.

Since entering the NHL in 2015-16, McDavid has five Art Ross Trophies, three Hart Memorial Trophies, four Ted Lindsay Awards, one Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy and seven 100-point seasons. However, he would surely trade it all in for one Stanley Cup. And now, for the first time in his career, McDavid has the opportunity to add a Cup to his future Hockey Hall of Fame resume.

But for a player of McDavid’s ilk, team success and individual success go hand-in-hand. For the Oilers to realize their ultimate dream of winning the Stanley Cup in a couple of weeks, McDavid will need to producing points at a historic rate.

Here are three major milestones McDavid could reach in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final:

40 points in one playoff year

Entering into the Final on Saturday, McDavid leads the league with 31 points in 18 playoff games this year, which is two off his career-high set during the 2022 playoffs, and five shy of Evgeni Malkin the most points in a single playoff year since 2005-06. Even if he only averages a point per game against the Florida Panthers in the Final, McDavid should surpass Malkin’s high-water mark in the salary cap era.

But considering his torrid pace through these playoffs, McDavid should clear that bar in short order en route to joining yet another exclusive club. The Oilers captain needs nine more points to become only the third player in NHL history to record 40 points in one playoff year. Wayne Gretzky achieved the feat three times, including twice with the Oilers in 1985 and 1988, and once with the Los Angeles Kings in 1993, while Mario Lemieux did it once with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991.

The numbers are in McDavid’s favour here, even if the series doesn’t go the distance. If he maintains his 1.72 points-per-game average during the 2024 playoffs, he’s on pace to hit the 40-point mark in the first period of Game 6. McDavid has also tallied nine or more points in five consecutive playoff series. The better question might be how close can McDavid get to Gretzky’s NHL record of 47 points in a single playoff year?

NHL single-playoff assists record

With the helper on Zach Hyman’s series-winning goal against the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final, McDavid registered his league-leading 26th assist of the playoffs, five up on his teammate Evan Bouchard. McDavid is now just four assists away from joining Gretzky as only the players in NHL history to record 30 assists in a single playoff year as well as the only player to ever have 130 assists in a combined regular season and playoffs.

Related: Edmonton Oilers reach Stanley Cup Final for first time since 2006

Not only does McDavid has a real chance to put up 30 assists in the playoffs this year, he could also break Gretzky’s record of 31 assists. Gretzky hit the 30-asssit mark for the second time and broke his own NHL record for single-playoff assists during the 1988 Stanley Cup Final, which was also his last playoff series with the Oilers. McDavid only needs six more helpers to eclipse the all-time mark.

The fewest assists McDavid has notched in any playoff series this spring was seven against the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference Second Round. He’s also had at least one assist in 14 of his 18 playoff game this year, including six multi-assist games and the first five-assist game in the playoffs by an NHL player since 1998. Shattering one of Gretzky’s playoff records and helping the Oilers win their first Cup in 34 years, should easily secure the Conn Smythe Trophy for McDavid, too.

Most points in one Final

This will be the most difficult milestone for McDavid to reach. Just like the single-playoff assists record, Gretzky set the record for points in one Stanley Cup Final, with 13, in his final game – and on final point – as a member of the Oilers in 1988. McDavid’s highest point total in one playoff series in his career is 14, which he accomplished during the 2022 Western Conference First Round against the Los Angeles Kings. That series went seven games.

His best offensive series in this post-season was also against the Kings, where he put up 12 points in just five games. Many things will have to go right for McDavid to break this record. McDavid’s favourite passing target at even-strength, Zach Hyman, will have to continue his own pursuit of single-playoff goals record. The Oilers will also need to continue to be north of 30% on the power-play, especially considering how few opportunities they had with the man-advantage in their last series.

It’s asking a lot to expect McDavid to take down multiple Gretzky records in the same playoff series, but I wouldn’t doubt his ability to do achieve any of these feats.