Connor Bedard and Connor McDavidIllustration by Photo illustration The Globe and Mail. Source photos: Erin Hooley/Associated Press, Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press
When Connor McDavid entered the NHL eight years ago he was forecast to become its first generational superstar since Sidney Crosby. He had been allowed to compete in the OHL as a 15-year-old and three years later was the first pick – a no-brainer – at the NHL draft.
He was selected by a very proud but lousy team in the Oilers. He was terrific despite an injury that cost him nearly half of his rookie season but Edmonton still finished at the bottom of its division.
Connor Bedard also was granted exceptional status by Hockey Canada so he could play at the major-junior level as an adolescent. He was only 17 when chosen by Chicago with the No. 1 pick this summer. It was a coronation of sorts for the most anticipated player to enter the sport since McDavid.
Bedard was taken by another proud organization that has fallen upon hard times. At one relatively recent stretch, Chicago won the Stanley Cup three times in a half-dozen years. It has missed the playoffs, though, in all but one of the past six seasons.
There are remarkable similarities between the two Connors – and they rank among the most fascinating storylines with the opening puck drop on 2023-24 around the corner. They play against each other for the first time in Edmonton on Dec. 12.
McDavid has indisputably turned into the game’s most outstanding player and is arguably among the best in history. He was appointed the Oilers’ captain at 19 and led them to the playoffs that season – ending a decade-long drought – before they were eliminated in the second round.
The numbers he has put up are unlike any seen in a long while. His 153 points during the 2022-23 campaign were the most since Mario Lemieux in 1996 and the fourth-most in history. The 64 goals he scored were one shy of Alex Ovechkin’s career high achieved in 2007-08.
One question that can be asked heading into the season is, can No. 97 possibly be any better? The biggest question is if he can lead Edmonton to its first Stanley Cup championship since 1990.
His one failing is that he is not a goalie. That is primarily what has undermined the Oilers for at least a few years.
Pundits ponder what is in store for Bedard this season. To many, the fact that he will win the award as the league’s top rookie is all but a certainty. And to this point he has looked the part. He had two assists and set up the game-winner in his first exhibition game and has five points in his first three appearances.
How many goals will Bedard score? How many points will he accumulate? As a relatively slight 18-year-old can he withstand the rigours of an 82-game season? Lastly, can he pull Chicago out of the abyss into which it has plummeted?
It is a lot to ask of a teenager in his first year – and all the same questions that were asked about McDavid before the 2015-16 season. It is what makes them elite players.
Bedard attended BioSteel camp with McDavid and Crosby this past summer and picked their brains. He trained with Gary Roberts, the long-time NHL player and fitness guru who got McDavid ready for his rookie season.
In his debut, McDavid ended up with 16 goals and 48 points in 45 games. He likely would have had 80 to 90 points had he not fractured his clavicle. It is a high threshold but most likely not out of reach for the next Connor.
No matter what, all eyes will be on both of them this season. If they remain healthy it will be something for hockey fans to behold. Take a seat and enjoy.
The conundrum in Toronto
So here is where we talk about the Maple Leafs. It is my fifth year covering them and pretty much every one has started with the same questions. Is this the year they win their first Stanley Cup since the 1600s? If not now, when ever will that be?
It has been slow going – and at times hard to see – but they have progressed during the preceding four seasons. They had not won a playoff round since 2004 and accomplished that in 2022-23. Good for them. Then they misfired – barely fired at all, really – and were eliminated in short order by the Panthers. Florida needed Pittsburgh to lose the last game of the regular season even to get in.
To me it looks like Toronto will have little competition within the Atlantic Division. The Bruins lost Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to retirement. It is probably time for the Lightning to fade a bit. It is unlikely to expect the Panthers to deliver a second magical run. So that leaves us with Buffalo, Detroit and Ottawa as teams that could finally push their way into the playoffs. They all brim with young talent. In the Senators’ case, they need to do something to make themselves relevant again.
And then there is the Canadiens. Feisty with a good coach but ugh.
Of course with the Maple Leafs what happens during the regular season hardly matters. They could go 82-0 and nobody would be convinced that they have the heart to go deep into the postseason.
Their roster is the best it has been in years. They will undoubtedly get production from Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares. They have rock-solid goaltending in Ilya Samsonov and either Joseph Woll or Martin Jones as the backup. Their defence has the potential to be a problem. They have already been plagued by injuries and lack depth if that were to continue. Mark Giordano turned 40 this week. Another veteran, T.J. Brodie, was underwhelming during the playoffs.
What makes this edition of the Maple Leafs different is the grit that has been added to the mix. I know, I know, I know. That is a theme every season, but this time it really looks different.
They have a potential wrecking crew in Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi and Ryan Reaves. Don’t expect the team’s top scorers to be pushed around too often. Reaves has played the role of intimidator for 13 years and is champing at the bit.
“I am more of a lay-the-body kind of guy and don’t want to do that here,” Reaves said somewhat wistfully during training camp. He always seems to have a glint in his eye. “I don’t want to lay anybody out and hurt somebody. That is the last thing I want to do.”
Until Toronto opens the season on Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena against Montreal.
The Winnipeg-born Domi – he is Tie’s son – is a hornet and has the opportunity to become a fan favourite. He has talked about how signing with the Maple Leafs amounts to a return home for him. He seems very engaged.
Bertuzzi, meanwhile, puts up goals and plays with an edge.
What does all of this mean? Dunno. These are the Maple Leafs. It could be the beginning of something big but it could also become a nightmare. I lean more to the former than the latter but nothing would surprise me.
Take the over on Ovi
Alexander Ovechkin is 38 and remains the Great Eight. He had a subpar season for him last year – 42 goals in 73 games – but the Washington Capitals’ winger enters this year 72 goals shy of matching Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894.
There is no better scorer in the NHL than Ovechkin, who has scored 50 or more goals nine times and 40 or more 13 times. You think 40 is good in a season? For him it is a slump.
One of the league’s most interesting story lines will be how close Ovechkin will be able get to Gretzky this year. Only a catastrophic injury will keep him from setting the record in 2024-25.
Seventy-two goals are not attainable for an aging star who scored 65 once early in his career. But if Ovechkin remains healthy he should have 45 to 50, which will leave him within easy range of The Great One.
“In every interview I’ve given over the past two years, someone is sure to ask about the record,” Ovechkin told RMNB, a Washington-area hockey blog in August. “Of course, I would like to do this. I once said that it is unrealistic. I still doubt that it is possible, but I will do my best to get close to this figure.
“Gretzky sincerely believes in me and expects this to happen. I think all the fans want it because it’s history. To be in this race is worth a lot.”
Sid’s not a kid and here comes Kyle
We can’t talk about this season without a mention of Sidney Crosby. He is 36 and many a Canadian fan will shed a tear when he calls an end to his magnificent career. It is hard even to imagine hockey without him. Three Stanley Cups. A golden goal at the Olympics. Never really a misstep taken in 18 years, all with the Penguins.
Pittsburgh missed the playoffs last season for the first time since Crosby was a rookie in 2005-06. That tells you something about his ability as a leader both on the ice and in the dressing room. In his 18th season, he had 33 goals and 60 assists.
While mostly aging gracefully, the Penguins’ issue is that they are getting old. Evgeni Malkin – the Robin to Crosby’s Batman – is 37. Kris Letang, a top defenceman, is 36. He has played 1,005 games – all also with Pittsburgh.
The storyline here is what happens in what appears to be a dominant team’s last-gasp attempt to win Lord Stanley’s mug again. A very large subplot is that the team is now being run by Kyle Dubas, who was fired as general manager by the Maple Leafs in May after five years.
It was anything but an amicable parting of the ways. Before he was terminated, Dubas talked about how trying the season was because his contract had not been renewed and his desire to spend time with his family. When he lost his job he said he had no interest in joining another organization.
In a tit-for-tat news conference, Toronto team president Brendan Shanahan then lashed out at Dubas – who in turn quickly became interested in returning to the NHL.
He landed in Pittsburgh – an organization with a rich tradition but one that had begun to wobble.
Dubas pulled off a blockbuster when he acquired Erik Karlsson from San Jose in a trade during the offseason. The 33-year-old was the most prized player being shopped around after he scored 101 points for the Sharks and won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenceman. There had not been a 100-point D-man since Brian Leetch in 1991-92.
While there is some question of how this will affect Letang, Karlsson is clearly a top-tier player who, while not young, still has an up side.
In fact Crosby and Letang both suggested to Dubas that he bring Karlsson to Pittsburgh. As part of a mini-makeover the Penguins also picked up winger Reilly Smith and defenceman Ryan Graves.
The intent is clear – the window is closing on what had become a dynasty and maybe this is its last chance to stand atop the NHL for a long while.
And for Dubas, it would be a great revenge.