Marcel Dionne remains probably the greatest hockey player in history never to have won the Stanley Cup. He still ranks sixth in history for points, 1771, behind Wayne Gretzky, Jaromir Jagr, Mark Messier, Gordie Howe and Ron Francis who had the pleasure of lifting the precious trophy.
Our man found himself with training that was at best ordinary, at worst execrable, for the majority of his career, in Detroit and Los Angeles, a few seasons in New York, at the end of his career.
Dionne never made the playoffs with the Red Wings between 1971 and 1975, making it past the first round three times in twelve years with the Kings, never the second. He averaged 1.31 points per game in the regular season, but had 45 points in 49 playoff games, for a 0.92 GAA.
In football, Dan Marino is arguably the best ringless quarterback in the Super Bowl. Marino ranks eighth in history in rushing yards and seventh in touchdown passes.
When he retired in 1999, no one had completed more passes, had more yards or had more touchdown passes. Still, Marino went 8-10 in the playoffs, all with the Miami Dolphins. He reached the Super Bowl once, in his second season: the Dolphins lost 38-16 to the San Francisco 49ers, Marino completed 29 of 50 passes for 318 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions.
Marino has thrown 420 touchdown passes to 252 interceptions in his career, compared to 32 touchdown passes to 24 interceptions in the postseason.
At just 27 years old, Connor McDavid already has 982 points in just 645 games, ranking 104th all-time. At his rate, he should reach the top 25 by the age of 30, somewhere between Brett Hull and Guy Lafleur, and if not seriously injured by the end of his career, reach the top 5, maybe even top 3 behind Lemieux and Jagr.
McDavid is in the finals for the first time in his ninth NHL season. The Oilers won a second game against the Panthers on Tuesday to cut the deficit, needing just one win. They have two games left to win, but it can all evaporate if they lose one of the next two games.
Leon Draisaitl’s future in Edmonton remains unclear and who knows if the Oilers will have a second chance to win the Cup in the event of a defeat in the coming days.
And if the Oilers were to lose, could McDavid be the exception to the rule: becoming a legend, without a Stanley Cup, and yet carrying the epithet of a winner?
McDavid is coming off two straight four-point games as his club faced elimination.
The NHL’s first overall pick in 2015 brings his record to 117 points in 72 playoff games, 73rd in history. Ahead of him, Jonathan Toews, Bobby Clarke, Bernard Geoffrion and Frank Mahovlich have played almost twice as many matches.
McDavid has 42 points in just 23 games in the current playoffs. Only Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux have had more prolific streaks. Gretzky holds the record with 47 points, set in 1985. Lemieux had 44 in 1991, and Gretzky had another 40-plus point spring, 43, in 1988. With any luck, McDavid could crack the second place behind Gretzky, and perhaps even, if the series reaches the seven-game limit, join the illustrious Merveille in first place!
Connor McDavid already has his place among the monuments of hockey, Stanley Cup or not. And it still has at least a dozen seasons left…
New Columbus Blue Jackets president and general manager Don Waddell told the Columbus Post Dispatch Tuesday that he fired Pascal Vincent after gathering information from players and team officials.
“I watched the team play. It wasn’t about strategy or system. But I couldn’t get past some of the things that happened last year and the season before. It was stuck in my mind, I couldn’t get rid of it. I talked to a lot of players. You don’t want to let the players dictate a coaching decision, but I heard things I didn’t expect to hear. I made my decision based on that and I have the support of the owners. We need a new voice in this locker room.”
Waddell says he will hire an experienced coach to replace the Quebecer. We will know more Thursday morning during his press briefing.