Where McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins rank in Oilers record books
The Edmonton Oilers record book could be seeing more revisions than usual this season.
Leon Draisaitl contributed to the latest rewrite after scoring his 127th power-play goal in an Oilers uniform in a 6-1 win over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night. This broke the previous record of 126 that was held by Glenn Anderson and Ryan Smyth.
Leo scoring in Music City? Who would have guessed š¤ pic.twitter.com/oGpD3B3Zmo
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 18, 2023
Draisaitl has been a power play fiend over the course of his career. Last season he scored 32 goals with the man-advantage, which is the second highest ever by an NHL player in a single season. Philadelphia’s Tim Kerr holds the NHL record with 34 in 1985-86.
It served as a reminder that Draisaitl and Connor McDavid could be getting close to rewriting some other long-standing franchise records, with some potentially coming as early as this season.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the longest-serving current Oilers player, could also pass some franchise greats this season.
Here are some milestones to keep an eye out for.
Connor McDavid
The Oilers captain still has a bit to go before he starts challenging Wayne Gretzky for the franchise lead in goals (583), assists (1086), and points (1669). That doesn’t mean the 2015 first-overall pick isn’t set to make some significant progress toward those totals this year.
McDavid only needs 19 more assists to surpass Jari Kurri’s 569 for third in franchise history. Considering McDavid picked up 89 assists last season, he should get there if he stays healthy. There is also an off-chance that he passes Mark Messier’s total of 642 to move into second all-time. He would need a career-high of 97 assists this season to get there.
McDavid’s closing in on Anderson (NHL.com)
When it comes to points, McDavid’s 855 currently ranks fifth in franchise history. He will most likely surpass Glenn Anderson’s 906 to get into the top four. That would require just 51 more points. McDavid would need to go on an absolutely incredible run to reach Messier’s 1,034 which is probably a little out of reach at the moment.
McDavid also has the chance to become the all-time leader in game-winning goals this season. He needs nine more to pass Anderson’s mark of 72.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
The key to Nugent-Hopkins making history is to stay healthy.
As mentioned, the Burnaby, BC, native is currently the longest-serving Oilers player on the team. His 804 games played with Edmonton currently ranks fifth in franchise history. If he is able to appear in the remaining 79 games of this season that total will reach 882, which will move him past Anderson and Messier for third all-time.
That would require Nugent-Hopkins to play a full 82-game season, which he did last year.
Leon Draisaitl
The big benchmark for Draisaitl this season was the power play goal record. He was able to square that one away just three games into the season.
From here the German power forward will now have his eyes on climbing up the all-time Oilers assists list. While he probably won’t be able to catch McDavid or anyone else in the top four, he could surpass Paul Coffey.
Coffey currently ranks sixth all-time in assists with 460. That means Draisaitl would need 19 more to leapfrog the Hall of Fame defenceman. Last season, the former 2014 third-overall pick recorded 76 assists in 80 games.