Connor McDavid has 30 assists through 15 games. Over the NHL's new 84-game schedule, that pace works out to 168 assists, five more than the 163 Wayne Gretzky set in 1985-86. Add his nine goals and McDavid has 39 points, a pace of about 218 that would also top Gretzky's single-season record of 215.
He kept it going Sunday in a 4-1 win over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. McDavid scored 50 seconds in, then picked up a secondary assist on an Evan Bouchard power-play goal. That assist made him the fastest player in NHL history to 30 assists in a season. Gretzky needed 16 games in 1984-85. It also stretched McDavid's season-opening assist streak to 15 games, an NHL record, and his point streak to 15 games. He has started a season this way once before, with a 17-game point streak to open 2021-22.
The pace is slowing, though, and that matters more than the record watch. On Oct. 21, after nine games, McDavid had 26 points and was tracking toward 243. Since then he has 13 points in six games. That is still elite, but it is closer to normal. His career high is 153 points, set in 2022-23. Last season he won his sixth Art Ross Trophy with 48 goals. He almost certainly won't stay above 2.5 points per game for 84 games, and fantasy managers should expect the projection to keep dropping. Even a sharp drop leaves him well clear of the rest of the league.
One correction to the hype: the next big milestone isn't coming this week. Gretzky reached 50 points in 18 games in 1983-84. McDavid would need 11 points in his next three games to match it, and at his current rate he would have about 47 points after game 18. The fastest-to-30-assists record has already fallen. What's left for now is the running streak, which will be tested Tuesday in New Jersey, then at home against Anaheim on Thursday and Vancouver on Saturday. The homestand gives him three games this week, a normal week of fantasy volume.
Edmonton is 11-2-2 with a plus-27 goal differential. Daily Faceoff ranks the Oilers second in its power rankings, not first. The team also has holes, and McDavid's production is covering them. Isaac Howard left Saturday's game against the Islanders after a knee-on-knee hit from Emil Heineman. Howard missed the Rangers game, though early reports suggest he avoided a serious injury. Recent injuries have pushed Colton Dach onto the second line, and Jake Walman was a healthy scratch for two straight games. On Sunday, Matt Tomkins made 27 saves in his Edmonton debut, his first NHL appearance since April 2024.
McDavid isn't carrying the team alone. Bouchard is on pace for 145 points, which would beat Bobby Orr's record for a defenseman, and Leon Draisaitl had two assists against New York. For McDavid's fantasy value, that's the point. Edmonton's power play keeps producing, and McDavid is part of most of it. As long as that holds, injuries further down the lineup don't threaten his output. If anything, they push more ice time and more offense to the top of the roster.
The fantasy verdict is simple. Don't trade McDavid unless a rival offers something absurd, and don't read anything into a quiet night when the point streak ends. The record pace will probably fade, but even a big regression from here likely leaves him as the top fantasy scorer by a wide margin. In head-to-head leagues, that weekly floor is worth more than any package of depth pieces.