Oilers' Connor McDavid has continued a shocking career trend originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Connor McDavid is acknowledged by pretty much everyone as the best hockey player on the planet.
That's what makes the career trend of the Edmonton Oilers' superstar quite confusing.
McDavid keeps being named the best player of tournaments that he loses.
It happened in the OHL Cup and the OHL Playoffs.
It happened in the Stanley Cup, where McDavid was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy but was shown in a behind-the-scenes video to say he wouldn't go back on the ice to accept it for "a million dollars."
And it happened at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, where McDavid was named tourney MVP despite the loss to the United States in the gold medal game.
Connor McDavid's trophy case:
— .Nectar (@dotNectar) February 23, 2026
OHL Cup MVP (Lost)
OHL Playoff MVP (Lost)
Conn Smythe (Lost)
Olympic MVP (Lost)
15 years of losing, but he gets individual glory
the greatest loser of all time pic.twitter.com/EZeE1Jzayf
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This gets down to the point in the argument about how much of greatness is defined by championships.
Mike Trout, for example, was viewed as the greatest player in baseball for his era, and he still has never won a playoff series.
LeBron James is often criticized for losing six times in the NBA Finals (although he has also won four rings).
Is it McDavid's fault that he carries his team to championship games, only for he and his team not to win once they're there?
It's hard to put a lot of the blame on him, although the haters will come out in full force with this latest defeat.
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Really, it's just confusing. And on Sunday in particular, it's baffling, given the immense talent on Canada's roster.
McDavid will want, more than anything, to win a big final game to prove he can do it. He's proven everything else already.
And if he needed even one more disheartening defeat to motivate him, he's got it now.
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