Is Connor McDavid Ruining The NHL?
That headline actually isn’t as sarcastic as you’d think it should be. I’m actually starting to get worried here that Connor McDavid is ruining the sport of hockey. Because after posting back-to-back 100+ point seasons in just his 2nd and 3rd year in the league, McDavid makes it look way too easy out there. Now somebody with a decent understanding of the sport can look at this shootout goal from last night and tell you that this goal is just the combination of elite level hands and elite level patience and elite level deception.
You know that McDavid knows that Allen thinks McDavid is going to pull this one from his forehand to his backhand. He’s setting him up, setting him up, and the moment McDavid has Allen exactly where he wants him, he sends that puck up north with a release so quick that you have to imagine McDavid can wrist curl the entire gym. You’ve seen how many guys have fucked up in a shootout before in the National Hockey League. But somehow McDavid makes it look so easy and so nonchalant.
But if you’re somebody who doesn’t watch a lot of hockey? Well you’re watching this highlight right here and you’re seeing a kid just glide in on net, not even have to make a single move and he ends up scoring. You’re thinking to yourself that anybody can go out there and do that. If that’s all the best player in the world needs to do to be able to score, then anybody can go out there and score a goal in the NHL. Which is obviously the furthest thing from the truth but that’s how McDavid makes the game look. He is simply too good that it’s starting to make the NHL look like a joke at times.
Take this goal against the Vegas Golden Knights from the other night for example.
At this in this clip he shows off his speed and skating ability a little bit. But nobody even touches him here. He turns on the jets for about a second and a half and he’s already flying past everybody. This is the NHL. McDavid is playing against the best defensemen in the world. And all of them look foolish when they try to do anything to stop him.
All I’m saying is that if Connor McDavid truly cared about the sport of hockey, he’d stop making it look so goddamn easy all the time. I think it would be a good challenge for him. He’s probably sick and tired of putting up 100+ points at will. Maybe we can make McDavid use old equipment or something like that. We don’t need to go all the way back to gear from the 60s/70s or anything like that. Just something to level the playing field a little bit. A wooden stick. Some heavy ass Graf skates. And maybe limit the amount of times he’s able to get his skates sharpened per season. It’s what would be best for the game.