Since the NHL first dropped the puck in 1917, there has been a select number of players who transcended and redefined the game. Some of these names include Maurice Richard, Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, and, most recently, Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid.
Not since the days of Gretzky and Lemieux has the league seen a player score at the pace that McDavid has, dropping at least 120 points in his last three seasons. While the individual accolades continue to pile up for McDavid, the one absence from his resume that all the other names listed have is a Stanley Cup. The odds are that it is only a matter of when, not if, McDavid will join the illustrious list of champions.
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Who Is Connor McDavid?
Born on January 13, 1997, in Richmond Hill, Ontario, McDavid has long been regarded as the best player of his generation ever since he pulled on a pair of skates. With a unique blend of talent, speed, skill and knowledge of the game, McDavid has redefined and set the bar for the modern NHL superstar.
Drafted first overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2015, McDavid was immediately tagged as the next face of the NHL. Currently, in his tenth NHL season, McDavid has already collected five Art Ross Trophies, 4 Pearson Awards, 3 Hart Memorial Trophies, and made seven All-Star Game appearances.
Meet The McDavids
Brian McDavid, a business strategist and operations consultant, and Kelly, a human resources director both played pivotal roles in shaping Connor’s hockey career. Brian, a former high school hockey player soon became his son’s youth hockey coach, while Kelly, who had played rec league hockey as a kid, did what many hockey parents do, spend countless hours on the road, commuting from rink to rink, practice to practice and game to game. Cameron, Connor’s older brother by six years was also a hockey player suiting up for the Ontario Junior Hockey League and the Central Ontario Junior C Hockey League.
Professional Career
Entering the NHL at the age of 19, McDavid inked a three-year $11.3 million deal and made his professional debut on October 9, 2015. It wouldn’t be until the third game of his career that McDavid recorded the first NHL goal during the second period of a 4-2 loss to the Dallas Stars. Unfortunately, a clavicle injury limited McDavid to just 45 games, finishing third in the Calder Memorial Trophy race. To date that would be the fewest games of his NHL career, while playing a full 82-game slate three times.
Entering his sophomore season, McDavid would be named the Oilers captain, becoming the youngest player in league history to receive the honor. Just over a month into the schedule, McDavid notched his first NHL hat-trick in a 5-2 victory over the Stars. The 2016-17 season would mark the first time McDavid broke the 100-point mark, a feat that he has since reached six more times.
McDavid’s first NHL postseason appearance came during the 2017 playoffs when the Oilers advanced to the second round before being knocked out. In 2024, McDavid and the Oilers made the team’s first Stanley Cup appearance since 2006, but they lost in seven games to the Florida Panthers. Despite the loss, McDavid received the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
With each season, McDavid has consistently landed among the top of the scoring leader charts, making him a major point of interest and a favorite of NHL fans, new sportsbooks, betting markets, and league sponsors.
Who’s Connor Married To?
In 2016 Connor was set up on a blind date by one of his teammates and cousin of Lauren Kyle. An interior designer, Kyle had attended Toronto’s Ryerson University where she received her bachelor’s degree. Three years later, Kyle started up her own company, Kyle & Co. Design where she currently serves as the principal designer. In 2023, after eight years of dating, McDavid proposed to Kyle at their family cottage and a year later the couple tied the knot at Lake Muskoka in Ontario.
While Connor and Lauren have yet to add a little McDavid to their family, they do share their home with their miniature bernedoodle named Lenard.
Net Worth
After inking his rookie deal, McDavid signed an eight-year $100 million contract extension, which currently brings him an annual average salary of $12.5 million. In addition to his NHL earnings, McDavid, one of the league’s most marketable players, has signed endorsement deals with EA Sports, BodyArmor, Rogers Communications, Upper Deck, BetMGM, CIBC, and Go Auto which amounts to approximately an additional $6 million per year.