“It’s a waste of time, but I do one a year.” — an NHL scout, asked if he files a detailed report on Connor McDavid when scouting Edmonton.
EDMONTON — Connor McDavid would have done this long ago — last season, likely — had he not missed nearly half his rookie season with a broken collarbone.
Truly, there is only one surprising detail about McDavid scoring his 500th NHL point, very likely on Wednesday night versus the Winnipeg Jets. That is, he would accomplish the feat in 369 games — exactly the same number of games it took Sidney Crosby to score 500 points.
“That’s pretty cool. A guy I grew up watching,” said McDavid, who sits at 499 career points through his first 368 games played. “He’s done a couple of other things that I am trying to do, with all of his Cups and stuff. That stuff is more important, but if (500) happens, great.”
And those scouts? They watch him play, just as they watch Crosby. But they know their GM has no shot at acquiring them.
“I just tick off the box, ‘Franchise player,’” said another scout. “Same with Draisaitl. My report is, ‘Get ’em if you can.’”
Crosby and McDavid have been linked since the day McDavid was granted exceptional player status by the Ontario Hockey League at age 15. Now, being part of a Stanley Cup contender/winner, the availability of a Canadian Olympic team to star on, and 776 NHL points are what separates the two.
“He’s done everything I want to do — he’s a great guy to follow,” McDavid said of Crosby. “He’s done everything he has set his mind to: He wanted to get better on faceoffs, and he’s done that; he wanted to score more goals, and he did that.
“There’s lots of lessons from his game, because his game has changed over the years. He does whatever he can to be successful. He’s solid defensively.”
So as we mark an early milestone, let’s look at who McDavid has become in our game, beyond an author of at least one jaw-dropping, highlight play per month.
He is, for starters, the best player in the game with no caveats. Without adding “the player you’d want in Game 7 of the Cup Final,” or “the guy you want on the ice in the final minutes with a 3-2 lead,” through a 60-minute game and an 82-game season McDavid is simply the best hockey player in the sport today.
The best way to frame it is, if you could pick any player to start your team around, who would it be?
Is there even a second answer out there?
Not if you ask Wayne Gretzky.
“I’m one of the fans who says, every time he touches the puck, ‘OK, something special’s going to happen. Pay attention,’” Gretzky said.
And McDavid will get to those other categories eventually, ticking off those few remaining boxes in which Crosby still leads or contends. For now though, he is the fastest player on earth — with or without the puck — the most dynamic offensive player in the game, and undoubtedly the one player who is worth the price of admission more often than any other.
Since joining the league for the 2015-16 season, McDavid’s 499 points in 368 games is tops. Patrick Kane is next, with 487 points in 414 games, followed by Nikita Kucherov and Draisaitl.
All those players produce highlights. McDavid, meanwhile, makes a play on Toronto’s Morgan Rielly that will live on as long as the two play — and beyond.
[embedded content]
Many players come back from injury and make a splashy return. At age 19, McDavid returned from three months on injured reserve to do this to the Columbus Blue Jackets — in only his 14th NHL game. He had three points that night.
One night against Tampa, Chris Kunitz kicked McDavid’s fourth goal of the night into his own net. Kunitz, who spent considerable time on Crosby’s flank in Pittsburgh, just shook his tuque.
“I guess you score one of his goals, it’ll be a good story to tell one day,” he reasoned.
We asked him that night about similarities, and to his discredit Kunitz did not predict the symmetry of their 500th point.
“It’s they’re competitiveness. They want to go through guys,” Kunitz said. “They want to be the best every single time they step on the ice. They’re driven by more than just wins and points. They’re driven by how they can change the game, or maybe it’s the individual status of trying to be the best that’s ever played the game.
“They don’t have a fear button. They don’t go wide on guys — they take it right through the middle. They enjoy the contact, almost,” he marveled. “You just want to get them the puck as quick as you can. You just give it to him with time to skate with it.”
The personal goals are changing now, as McDavid passes his 24th birthday just over a month ago with two Art Ross Trophies, two Ted Lindsay Awards, and a Hart Trophy all piled in his trophy case. He’s talking about a “200-foot game” more often now, and his faceoff work belies a summer spent working on an area of his craft that does not produce top-10 highlights.
He is that player who has outgrown simply working on the areas of the game he is already good at. Now he realizes that there isn’t as much room for improvement in those places where he already excels, as can be found in the few areas of the game where is lacking.
“He’s going to get a whole lot more points than 500,” said teammate Adam Larsson. “For him to reach that at this point, it is beyond impressive.
“The way he carries himself, the way he handles everything … He’s quite an impressive human being. Being 24 and having 500 points already? It’s remarkable.”
Meanwhile, though you may have a hard time spotting it, McDavid is making progress under the glare of the spotlight that has shone on him since age 14. With the media, he puts more thought into his answers now, and slowly the voice that carries so much weight in the hockey world is beginning to define itself — slowly.
McDavid is the “Face of the Game,” whether he wants to be or not. Now he’s starting to give the media something to work with, even if it seldom shows on those pesky “walk-off” interviews between periods.
And perhaps eventually, he’ll get better at talking himself up. Because a podium, a microphone, and a question about his own prowess remains the one place in a hockey rink where Connor McDavid is still truly uncomfortable.
“That’s the leadership he shows,” observes his head coach, Dave Tippett. “He is an incredible player, and the players that play with him are always amazed at what he does in the games. To be that humble, as a teammate you respect a guy for his leadership, his ability, but ultimately you respect him as a human being.
“Because he’s a really good person. It just so happens he’s (also) a really good hockey player.”
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps will begin their post-season campaign with a play-in game against the Timbers in Portland on Wednesday.
The ‘Caps (13-13-8) ended the regular season with a 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake on Saturday and finished eighth in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference standings.
The eighth and ninth spots from each conference meet in a play-in game this week, with the winner going on to face the No. 1 seed in the first round of the playoffs.
Each eighth-place team was set to host the play-in game, but Vancouver announced Friday that its home stadium, B.C. Place, is not available, so the club will cede home-field advantage to Portland (12-11-11), the ninth-place team.
The ‘Caps and Timbers split their three-game series during regular-season play, with each side taking a win, a loss and a draw.
The first round of the MLS playoffs is set to begin next weekend.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2024.
SANDY, Utah (AP) — Diego Luna scored a tying goal in the 73rd minute and Real Salt Lake added another on an own goal for a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night to set a single-season club record for points.
Real Salt Lake (16-7-11) secured the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference and will face Minnesota in the first round of the Major League Soccer playoffs. RSL reached 59 points this season, topping the 2012 team with 57.
Vancouver (13-13-8) will play the Portland Timbers on Wednesday in a wild-card game for a chance to play top-seeded LAFC.
Luna settled a long cross from Braian Ojeda before taking four touches to slot home a shot inside the far post for his eighth goal of the season.
RSL went ahead in the 83rd when Vancouver goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer misplayed a lofted ball that rolled into the back of the net.
Vancouver midfielder Ryan Gauld opened the scoring in the 58th to become the first player in club history to produce multiple seasons with at least 10 goals and 10 assists.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Juan Soto’s arrival last winter was supposed to be that move that pushed the New York Yankees back to the top.
They’re one step away.
Soto hit a three-run homer with two outs in the 10th inning and the Yankees advanced to their 41st World Series — and first in 15 years — by beating the Cleveland Guardians 5-2 in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series on Saturday night.
Baseball’s biggest brand is going back to October’s main stage.
Soto, who was acquired in a seven-player trade from San Diego in December, pushed the Bronx Bombers into position with one big swing.
This was why he came, for this moment and for so many more.
“We’re right where we belong,” said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who pulled off the deal for Soto.
The Yankees will try to win their 28th title against either the New York Mets or Los Angeles Dodgers. Game 6 of the NL Championship Series is on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.
In the third consecutive tight game in three nights at Progressive Field, Austin Wells walked with one out in the 10th and Alex Verdugo followed with a grounder to Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez, whose soft toss to the bag was dropped by rookie shortstop Brayan Rocchio for an error.
Hunter Gaddis struck out Gleyber Torres and had Soto in a 1-2 count before New York’s stylish outfielder sent a shot over the wall in center. Soto danced down the first-base line and paused to celebrate with his teammates before circling the bases.
“I was just saying to myself, `You’re all over that guy. You’re all over that guy. He ain’t got anything,’” said Soto, who moved alongside his manager, Aaron Boone, as the only New York players to homer in an extra-inning, series-clinching win.
Luke Weaver got the final three outs with Lane Thomas flying out for the last one, which was caught by Soto.
“We get to play for a world championship,” Boone said. “That’s pretty sweet.”
The 25-year-old Soto is eligible for free agency this winter, and Yankees fans chanted “Re-sign Soto!” during the postgame festivities. He’s expected to get a contract upwards of $600 million, and his heroics in Game 5 may have raised his price.
Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer and was named ALCS MVP as the Yankees took care of the Guardians in five games. It wasn’t easy.
New York won the first two at Yankee Stadium without much fanfare or any major drama. However, it was a different story in Cleveland as all three games at Progressive Field were nail-biters.
The Guardians rallied to win Game 3 on two, two-run homers in their last two at-bats, and the Yankees held on to win Game 4 after blowing a four-run lead.
“This was a rollercoaster and we were able to just keep punching back,” Stanton said. “We know there’s much more work to do and it’s only uphill from here and we got to get it done.”
Cleveland just didn’t have enough and a surprising season under first-year manager Stephen Vogt ended just short of a World Series. The franchise remains without a title since 1948, baseball’s current longest drought.
“There’s only one team that gets to win the last game of the year, and unfortunately it’s not going to be us,” Vogt said. “But we accomplished a lot as a group. We got better. We worked extremely hard. I couldn’t be more proud of this group. We just didn’t get quite as far as we wanted to.”
The Yankees are back in the World Series, back where their fans expect them to be every year.
The club’s 82-80, fourth-place finish in the AL East last season led to some “soul searching as an organization” during the winter, according to Boone, who has been widely criticized but is one of just three managers to take New York to playoffs in six of his first seven seasons.
While the team’s core stayed mostly intact, getting Soto in a blockbuster trade on Dec. 7 — New York sent five players to San Diego for the three-time All-Star — accelerated the team returning to title contender.
“That was a good day,” Boone said with a laugh before the game.
Stanton’s 446-foot rocket into the left-field bleachers tied it at 2 in the sixth and chased Tanner Bibee, who had struck out New York’s dangerous DH in his first two at-bats and held the Yankees scoreless for the first five innings.
It was Stanton’s fourth homer in this series — his third in three days — and his 16th in the postseason, moving him into fourth place on the club’s career list behind Bernie Williams (22), Derek Jeter (20) and Mickey Mantle (18).
Before the game, Boone was asked what makes Stanton so good.
“He can hit it harder than anyone, first of all,” Boone said. “So there’s the physical nature of what he does that’s different than just about everyone in the world.”
But Boone went on to compliment Stanton’s discipline at the plate, “his approach, his process, how he studies guys.”
“There’s something that he does when he gets familiarity with people on top of being very physically gifted,” Boone said.
The Guardians took a 2-0 lead in the fifth off Carlos Rodón on Steven Kwan’s RBI single with two outs. But Cleveland missed a big chance for more, leaving the bases loaded when Lane Thomas grounded out on the first pitch to him from Mark Leiter Jr.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Yankees: LHP Nestor Cortes (elbow strain) had another successful live batting practice session. The reliever remains on track to join the Yankees on their World Series roster. Boone said Cortes would throw again early next week. Cortes went 9-10 with a 3.77 ERA in 30 starts.
