Oilers’ McDavid records ninth 100-point season, third all-time

One of the greatest players of all time is climbing closer to the top of a legendary leaderboard.

On Thursday night, Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid potted a goal and an assist against the Los Angeles Kings in an 8-1 victory. It gave the Oilers captain 100 points on the season, making him the first to reach the plateau this year, and marking the ninth time in his career that he has reached the century mark.

The milestone places McDavid third all-time in 100-point seasons in the NHL, moving him ahead of Kings legend Marcel Dionne. He now sits only behind Hockey Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

McDavid sits one behind Lemieux, whose 10 100-point campaigns all came with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Gretzky leads the pack by reaching the mark 15 times in his illustrious career.

The Richmond Hill, Ont. native wasted little time in establishing himself as one of the most dominant players in the game. After missing most of his rookie season with a shoulder injury, No. 97 scored 100 points in 2016-17. He would hit the number three years in a row, but came three points short of reaching 100 during the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign.

That would be the last time McDavid would miss out on 100 points. After registering an insane 105 points in 56 games in 2021, he would have three consecutive campaigns with over 120 points. That includes his dominant 2022-23 campaign, where he led the league in goals (64), assists (89) and points (153). It was the last time McDavid won the Hart and Art Ross Trophies, as well as the Ted Lindsay Award. McDavid was also crowned the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the NHL’s top goal scorer for the first time.

This year, McDavid leads the league with 65 assists, sitting second behind Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon for the most goals, as McDavid has 35 tallies to MacKinnon’s 40.

The Oilers (29-23-8) are second in the Pacific Division, four points back of the Vegas Golden Knights for first.