“His motivation to be better today than yesterday is remarkable,” said Oilers center Adam Henrique. “When the best player in the world does that, everyone else wants to imitate him. We won’t all be at the same level as him, but if every player, regardless of their role, wants to be better than yesterday, the team’s performance will be strengthened. »
McDavid, who needs 12 points to reach the 1,000 career mark, may never have had better support to help Edmonton finish the unfinished business last season.
The Oilers have a largely identical roster to 2023-24, except they added veterans Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson to an already devastating offense this off-season. They are probably banking on their best top-6 offense since McDavid was drafted first overall in 2015.
« [La saison morte] was rushed, McDavid pointed out. In the short window of time [la direction] was willing, she did excellent things. Keeping as many players as possible is a good thing in the salary cap era. It’s difficult to do, and [le président et chef de la direction Jeff] Jackson did a good job of finding a way to make this happen. »
Before last year’s season, the Oilers’ mentality was simple: anything but the Stanley Cup will be considered a failure. It will likely be the same approach this year. After all, that’s about the only trophy McDavid is missing.
Unsurprisingly, MacKinnon, last year’s Hart winner, finished second in the NHL.com poll. Kucherov took the fifth level. Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews completes the podium.
Voting results (five points for a first place vote, four points for a second place vote, etc.):
1. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers, 55 points (11 first place votes)
2. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche, 36 points
3. Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs de Toronto, 22 points
4. David Pastrnak, Bruins de Boston, 14 points
5. Nikita Kucherov, Lightning de Tampa Bay, 12 points
6. Jack Hughes, Devils du New Jersey, 9 points
É-7. Sidney Crosby, Penguins de Pittsburgh, 4 points
É-7. Matthew Tkachuk, Panthers de la Floride, 4 points
É-7. Kirill Kaprizov, Wild du Minnesota, 4 points
10. Jason Robertson, Dallas Stars, 2 points
E-11. Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche, 1 point
É-11. Steven Stamkos, Predators de Nashville, 1 point
E-11. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning de Tampa Bay, 1 point
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