EDMONTON, AB — Connor McDavid decided he needed a new trophy this season.
A Stanley Cup would be ideal, of course, but in terms of individual accolades, McDavid appears set to win his first Maurice Richard Trophy as the NHL's leading goal scorer.
The Edmonton Oilers superstar center scored twice in Monday's win over the Buffalo Sabres, and has recorded 12 goals over his past eight games.
As a result, he sits 10 goals ahead of second-place David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins for the league lead in goals, with no signs of slowing down.
In fact, he's already well surpassed his previous career high in goals (44 last season) and points (124) with 17 games remaining on the schedule.
The only player who comes close in points is teammate Leon Draisaitl (96).
"The fact that it's a career high for Connor McDavid and we're not even 70 games into the season is insane," remarked Locked on Oilers podcast host Brett Holden.
On top of winning the Art Ross and Richard trophies, McDavid will likely set new benchmarks in the shootout era.
Since 2005-06, only two players have recorded more than 124 points in a single season: Nikita Kucherov (128 in 2018-19) and Joe Thornton (125 in 2005-06). McDavid could top Kucherov in the next couple games or so.
Goals may be a bit harder, as Alex Ovechkin set the high in the shootout era with 65 back in 2007-08. As it stands, McDavid is on pace for 68, and could very well hit 70 based on how he's performing lately.
McDavid and the Oilers will next be in Boston to take on Pastrnak and the league-leading Bruins on Thursday. These two teams played last week, with McDavid scoring twice in a 3-2 Oilers loss.