Connor McDavid is out to solidify his legacy and deny the Panthers a dynasty in Stanley Cup Final
History has a way of repeating itself in sports in a manner that sometimes defies logic.Even when it comes to the Stanley Cup, the NHL’s championship trophy that is widely regarded as the toughest to win in all of sports, there are telling patterns.How else can you explain the eerily similar tales that two of the league’s generational talents share regarding their journey to hoisting their first Stanley Cup?Wayne Gretzky and the Oilers lost his first Stanley Cup Final to the Islanders in 1983.The very next year, Gretzky and the Oilers topped the Islanders on the same stage to win it all.Detroit denied Sidney Crosby and the Penguins of his first Stanley Cup in 2008.Crosby and the Penguins came all the way back the very next season to reverse the results on the Red Wings.Now, it’s Connor McDavid’s turn.McDavid has his second shot at claiming Lord Stanley for the first time in his 10-year NHL career, as the Oilers are set to face the Panthers in a highly anticipated Stanley Cup Final rematch beginning on Wednesday in Edmonton.
It was this same core of Panthers players — Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Sergei Bobrovsky — who got in his way last time.Like Gretzky and Crosby before him, McDavid will have to exorcise his demons to cement his status and capture his first Stanley Cup.McDavid, last year’s Conn Smythe winner despite coming out on the losing end, falls into a highly exclusive category as one of the greatest to ever do it.He is, quite simply, the best player in the entire National Hockey League, and he has been for some time now.There will never be another McDavid, just like there will never be another Gretzky or Crosby.This is a legacy series for the 28-year-old, who is spearheading the Oilers with 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) in 16 games.
Though McDavid strives for the same results as the sensational players before, the Panthers have their eyes on something else entirely: a dynasty.“I beli...