Time to embrace debate.
Over the last couple of weeks, hockey writers and fans alike have been very active on social media. And why shouldn’t they be? The Stanley Cup Playoffs have been in full swing since mid-April, with The Stanley Cup Final now three games old and the Florida Panthers holding a two-games-to-one lead over the Edmonton Oilers.
One of the things the writers and fans have been discussing – debating – is whether or not Edmonton’s superstar Captain, Connor McDavid, is worthy of a place on The NHL’s Mount Rushmore? They’ve argued that McDavid NEEDS to finally win The Cup to secure his legacy as one of the greatest to ever play the game. They’ve said that IF he wins The Cup this year, he’s a shoo-in for The NHL’s Mount Rushmore; especially if he finishes his career in the neighborhood of 2,000 points (which is still a long way away).
Well, let me tell you all something. YES, McDavid is an all-time great. That, there is no denying. But NO, he does not NEED to win The Cup this year – or any year – to cement his legacy as one of the greatest players in the sport’s history. A Cup would obviously be nice.
It would be the finishing touch on his resume. But whether he wins it this year or not and whether he ever wins it or not, Connor McDavid will always be remembered as this generation’s best player. To further emphasize this, McDavid could retire tomorrow and he’d be a unanimous, first-ballot Hall of Famer.
However, even if he wins The Cup this year – and finishes his career with 2,000 points – he is NOT getting a bust on The NHL’s Mount Rushmore.
The topic of who is on The NHL’s Mount Rushmore is a debate that will never end, but McDavid is not close to being on there.
As things currently stand, Wayne Gretzky, Martin Brodeur and Bobby Orr are three of the four indisputable names at the top of the mountain. The greatest scorer ever, the winningest goaltender ever and the unparalleled defenseman are names who are not up for debate.
Not only is Gretzky the record holder for most career points – which he’d still be even if he never scored a single goal – but he also dominated the game in a way never before seen. He literally made the impossible possible.Brodeur not only won the most games in NHL history, but he was so dominant, The League had to create a new rule to try and neutralize him. And Orr redefined what we had come to think was possible for defensemen to do on the ice, forever changing the position.
Those three are on the mountain and while some will obviously try and debate Brodeur’s placement over Patrick Roy or Dominik Hasek, that’s not an argument you’re going to win.
That leaves the final spot to be decided upon and where the real debate is.
Names like Mario Lemieux, Gordie Howe and Maurice “The Rocket” Richard are the ones most often discussed for the final spot. I’d personally give Howe the edge, given his unmatched impact on the game.
Getting back to McDavid, a single Cup and 2,000 career points (we’ll see if he gets to that plateau one day) are not enough to catapult him over Lemieux, Howe and The Rocket. Yes, McDavid has and continues to dominate the game in a way not seen since the heyday of Gretzky and Lemieux, but that’s not going to put him on the mountain.
Now, IF McDavid were to get to 2,000 points and win a handful of Cups (at least four), then you have my attention regarding potentially giving him the fourth and final spot. But one Cup is certainly not going to do it.
However, that takes nothing away from what Connor McDavid has done during his career. Even without being on The NHL’s Mount Rushmore, his legacy as ONE of the greatest to ever lace up a pair of skates is not up for debate. Cup or no Cup, McDavid is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer.
But The Hall of Fame is not Mount Rushmore.
Heritage Classic photo by J. West
