Connor McDavid has long garnered comparisons to legends like Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby, but as he leads the Edmonton Oilers to their second consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final, the similarities between the three all-time greats are becoming impossible to ignore.
Both Gretzky and Crosby lost their first chance at a championship, only to avenge their defeats the following season against the same opponent. The Great One got the last laugh over the New York Islanders in 1984, and Sid the Kid flipped the script on the Detroit Red Wings in 2009 to earn his first of three rings. McDavid would join the exclusive club if the Oilers beat the Florida Panthers in this year's final.
"I see, obviously, the parallels that everyone wants to write about," McDavid said at media day Tuesday. "At the end of the day, this is a different story. Different teams, different group. Just excited to have another kick at the can here. That's all."
McDavid and the Oilers lost to the Panthers in Game 7 last year, nearly erasing a 3-0 series deficit. Despite the losing effort, the 28-year-old won the Conn Smythe after setting a playoff record with 34 assists and racking up 42 points, the fourth-highest total in a single playoff.
The Panthers are making their third straight finals appearance and looking to become the ninth franchise to win back-to-back Stanley Cups. Only the Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning have accomplished the feat in the salary cap era.
"They have our complete focus," McDavid said. "All our energy is going into beating the Florida Panthers. There should be nothing else on anyone's mind."
The series is scheduled to begin Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Edmonton.
