Connor McDavid’s Career Assist Total Puts Him in Exclusive Company

No, McDavid stands truly alone on this one. What is more, it is not a given that McDavid’s assist total would have caught his games played heading into this season. He had 547 assists in 569 games, an average of .96 assists per game. Eleven games into the 2023-24 season, he only had eight assists and 10 points—a far cry from the pace we expect from him. In fact, McDavid’s point production looked funky for a significant portion of this season. He acknowledged that he did not even know about the possibility of hitting 100 assists because of how finicky his scoring had been.

I had that weird stretch where I didn’t score any goals but I had a bunch of assists. That was kind of when I was made aware of it. It is not something you set out to do or whatever, it was just a product of playing with some really good players, playing on a good team and putting in a lot of hard work.

Connor McDavid

McDavid is referring to a 10-game goal drought between Feb. 9-26, a period in which he tallied 23 assists. That stretch generated unstoppable momentum for him. Before Feb. 9, he had 47 assists in 44 games played, bringing his career totals to 594 assists in 613 games. After those 10 games, he had 617 assists in 623 games. Indeed, he edged closer but still was not quite there. Since Feb. 28, however, he has notched 30 more assists in 21 games, moving his career totals to 647 in 644.

In a season that boasts one of the tightest Hart Trophy races in recent memory, McDavid continues to separate himself from his peers’ incredible accomplishments. Auston Matthews is looking for his 70th goal of the season. Kucherov also will try to reach 100 assists when the Tampa Bay Lightning close the season against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. MacKinnon is chasing Kucherov for the Art Ross Trophy. Crosby continues to excel despite his age. If, however, you zoom out from this season alone, McDavid is establishing himself as one of the greatest offensive talents in NHL history, and his assist total testifies to that.

McDavid Stands with Gretzky and Lemieux

If you do not agree, perhaps Gretzky and Lemieux can convince you. McDavid joined these two and Orr with his 100th assist this season. His point-per-game assist production leaves Orr behind to stand exclusively with Gretzky and Lemieux. These two players are the only skaters in NHL history who have more assists than games played. Ron Francis did not do it (1,249 assists in 1,732 games played). Neither Mark Messier (1,193 in 1,756) nor Ray Borque (1,169 in 1,612) or Jaromir Jagr (1,155 in 1,733) accomplished it. Those are the top five assist leaders in NHL history.

Every year, McDavid improves. Last season, he potted 64 goals and won the Rocket Richard Trophy. This season he reached 100 assists. Perhaps next season he will combine both to reach the 200-point mark. That is a stretch, but the point is, that his offensive production continues to baffle. He could maintain his point-per-game assist pace for the remainder of his career to solidify his name next to Gretzky and Lemieux. It will be difficult, but McDavid is the one player who could do it.