Greg Wyshynski, ESPNJun 7, 2024, 06:21 PM ET
CloseGreg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.
SUNRISE, Fla. — Connor McDavid said he’s not thinking about his legacy as the Stanley Cup Final begins.
But as he answered questions at media day Friday, the Stanley Cup was all around him.
The actual Cup was glistening on a table about 50 feet away. To McDavid’s right was a large poster of Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour lifting it in 2006, the last time the Edmonton Oilers made the Final. In front of him was another poster, this of Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby celebrating one of his three championships.
McDavid is considered the best player in the world but has yet to win the Stanley Cup. How a championship would validate his NHL career achievements isn’t paramount on his mind ahead of Saturday’s Game 1 against the Florida Panthers.
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“It’s like what I said this last series about Dallas, I’ll say it again about Florida: They’re a great team and they require your full attention,” he said. “You’ve got to stay in the moment. You can only take what’s in front of you. And for us, that’s getting ready to go for tomorrow. Showing up and playing all of Game 1.”
McDavid leads the postseason with 31 points in 18 games. While he only has five goals, his 26 assists have him in range of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL single-postseason record of 31 set in 1988.
“There’s certain things in certain moments where there’s only one player in the world that can make that happen. And I think we can all agree on that,” teammate Leon Draisaitl said of McDavid.
Game 1 is a full-circle moment for McDavid when it comes to the Panthers arena. It’s where he walked on stage to accept an Oilers jersey as the first overall pick in the 2015 NHL draft.
“It’s kind of funny how it’s worked out,” McDavid said. “Honestly, it feels like it was yesterday that that night was happening, and here we are nine years later, it feels like it’s going back around.”
Before he was drafted, McDavid said he used to watch…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/40300473/oilers-mcdavid-not-thinking-legacy-cup-finals-begin
Author : Greg Wyshynski
Publish date : 2024-06-07 23:28:13
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