Connor McDavid has one goal in mind: the Stanley Cup, not another Art Ross.

In my mind, there’s no doubt that Connor McDavid is the best player in the league.

He may not have won any cups like Nathan MacKinnon and Nikita Kucherov, but that doesn’t matter: the best player in the league in my eyes is a strictly individual title.

Despite a slow start to the season, 97 is back on top, two points behind Mack (with two games in hand) and one behind Kucherov (with one game in hand).

More than ever, he’s in the running for the Art Ross Trophy.

But as The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman writes, 97 doesn’t care about individual awards. His ultimate goal is to win the Stanley Cup.

If that dream seemed unattainable when Jay Woodcroft was fired, it’s not necessarily the case now.

Edmonton is in second place in the Pacific section, four points behind the Vancouver Canucks.

If the playoffs started today, the Oilers would cross swords with the Los Angeles Kings in the first round. Yes, again.

But individually, McDavid has come a long way. At the time of the coaching change, he was 107th in the NHL in scoring with 10 points in 11 games. Today, however, he’s third in the league with 125 points and is on track to eclipse the 100-assist plateau.

We have to go back to 1990-1991 to see the last player to have collected so many assists in a single season. That year, Wayne Gretzky collected 122. We can forget that figure for 97, however.

But then again, that’s not what’s important. The important thing is to win the big honours.

In bursts

– A thing of beauty.

DAKOTA JOSHUA BETWEEN-THE-LEGS GOAL

: @NHL_On_TNT & @SportsonMax https://t.co/W9mpYG1lMO pic.twitter.com/wNd3Im9dAV

– NHL (@NHL) March 31, 2024

– The Ryan Leonard-Cutter Gauthier duo is unstoppable.

– Keeps his team in the game.

– Big win.