Is this the greatest generation of playoff performers in NHL history?
We’re in a golden age for superstars enforcing their will in the playoffs.
The postseason is supposed to be humbling for the game’s best players. Hard matchups. Tight checking. A relaxed penalty standard. Extreme parity from the salary cap. Just ask the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ core — or its fanbase — how frustrating this time of year can be.
Yet, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl can’t be shut down. Mikko Rantanen continues to dominate in Dallas. And while each of their teams exited in Round 1, Nikita Kucherov and Nathan MacKinnon have a long history of playoff excellence.
With so many elite players thriving on hockey’s postseason stage, we’re comparing this generation to the greatest offensive artists since expansion. The results paint a stunning picture of an era of stars unfazed by the playoffs’ bright lights.
NHL Playoff Scoring History
In order to compare McDavid to Sidney Crosby, let alone Mario Lemieux or Wayne Gretzky, we need a level playing field. One year ago, I’d introduced era adjusted playoff scoring — a tool that places every player in a neutral postseason. While it’s impossible to know how McDavid might perform in past playoff eras, we can compare him to the G.O.A.T.s based on his performance relative to his own era.
Before we dive in, the visual below shows us why we need to calibrate offense. This is the NHL’s playoff scoring environment since the 1968 expansion — the dotted line at six goals per game is our neutral climate. The logos at the top are those of multiple Stanley Cup-winning franchises. Plotting them on the timeline offers a sense of which teams control the league as scoring rises and falls.
With between seven and eight goals per game at the peak of the Islanders‘ and Oilers‘ dynasties to fewer than six goals per game every year from 1996 to 2019, bringing context to stat lines is a must. Only since the 2020 pandemic bubble have we started to see favorable playoff scoring conditions creep back.
Top Playoff Point Scorers
So, how exceptional have our modern superstars been?
Here are the best point producers with at least 50 postseason games who debuted in the playoffs in the expansion era. That’s 57 years of playoff hockey. The leaderboard is sorted by era adjusted points-per-game — expressed as an 82-game point scoring pace.
The five aforementioned forwards — born just four years apart — are highlighted above. Their individual rankings among the legends are jaw-dropping:
- McDavid is topped only by Gretzky.
- Draisaitl is topped only by Gretzky, McDavid, and Lemieux.
- Peter Forsberg and Orr are the only names between MacKinnon, Rantanen and the top five.
- Kucherov is a single spot behind Crosby, tied with Mark Messier.
In an age of extreme parity, these five players have produced points in the playoffs with ease.
Now, before we get too excited, we have to hit the pause button.
We’re praising five forwards currently between 28 and 31 years old — in the late stages of their physical primes — compared to the entire careers of past generations. Joe Sakic, for example, played another 58 playoff games after turning 31. Jaromir Jagr was still playing playoff games at 44, moving him down the leaderboard. Such players are the exception, not the rule, however.
Between injuries and teams refusing to retool given the presence of a future inner circle Hall of Famer in their midst, most superstars see relatively few playoff games in their twilight. Crosby has played just 20 playoff games beyond his age-30 season. Patrick Kane? Just 16 postseason caps in his 30s. Three-time Cup-winning captain Jonathan Toews? Nine playoff games after turning 28.
Each of McDavid, Draisaitl, MacKinnon, Rantanen, and Kucherov have produced so much early in their playoff careers that even the inevitable post-30 dip shouldn’t move them out of the top 20.
Top Playoff Point Scorers: Defensemen
What about Evan Bouchard? You surely noticed he was the 16th-best point scorer at any position since expansion in the leaderboard above. Yes, really. With Bouchard top of mind, let’s check in on the defensemen leaderboard with that same 50-game postseason minimum.
That’s Bouchard trailing only Orr. Decent company.
That’s a much-maligned 25-year-old defensemen scoring at rates with little precedent. Incredible stuff.
While he only recently passed the 60-game threshold, Orr himself only played 74 career playoff games. Bouchard will need a decade of elite play and ongoing team success to chase down the likes of Paul Coffey, Al MacInnis, Ray Bourque, Denis Potvin, or Nicklas Lidstrom in total era adjusted points. But what a start we’re witnessing.
Cale Makar, just one year Bouchard’s senior, already has a Cup, Conn Smythe, and 85 career playoff points. He’s easily fourth since expansion per game, just four points-per-82 back of Bouchard’s lightning pace.
Team Success
I can hear some of you screaming “BUT McDAVID, DRAISAITL, AND BOUCHARD HAVEN’T WON A CUP!”
As media and fans, we get really hung up on Cup count. I get it. That’s the point of the playoffs, right? Well-rounded legacies are supposed to include, well, everything. But teams win team trophies. You can play at the highest level over and over again every spring — as McDavid, Draisaitl, and Bouchard continue to prove — and a Stanley Cup is not guaranteed in a 32-team league. The trio has scored at rates comparable to Gretzky, Messier, and Coffey relative to era… with nothing to show for it (yet).
Eleven months ago, McDavid earned 16 of 17 first-place votes for the Conn Smythe Trophy — a nearly unanimous call. He was objectively the best player in the playoffs. What more can someone do?
Fewer and fewer of the league’s best players will win titles. It’s the reality of a growing sport. Below is the evolution of the probability of a random player on a random team winning at least one (or two) Cups based on franchise count. This reflects players fortunate enough to play 15 NHL seasons — a rare feat.
| Period | Average Team Count | 1+ Cup in 15 Years | 2+ Cups in 15 Years | Notable G.O.A.T. from Era |
| 2018-2025 | 31.5 | 38% | 8% | Connor McDavid |
| 2001-2017 | 30.0 | 40% | 9% | Sidney Crosby |
| 1992-2000 | 25.7 | 45% | 11% | Jaromir Jagr |
| 1980-1991 | 21.0 | 52% | 16% | Wayne Gretzky |
| 1968-1979 | 15.4 | 63% | 25% | Bobby Orr |
| 1943-1967 | 6.0 | 94% | 74% | Gordie Howe |
A current player, should they last 15 seasons, has a 38% chance of winning the Cup. Winning multiple Cups carries only 8% odds in McDavid’s era. With 32 teams, the numbers are bleak. There are no heavy Cup favorites to join in free agency. Or NBA-style super squads to engineer. Cap room has been scarce for years now. There are a dozen NHL teams annually with realistic title aspirations today — all but one loses.
Closing Thoughts
We’ve watched a special generation dominate the postseason over the last half-decade. Five forwards have banked points at top-12 rates since expansion. Another two defensemen are in the top four at their position. While these scoring paces are unlikely to hold fully into a player’s 30s, each is a safe bet to retire with historically significant production.
Whether the Stanley Cup follows these dominant playoff performers remains to be seen. The postseason is an increasingly competitive labyrinth — even on teams with dominant, prime-age stars. In the mean time, don’t miss a minute. We may well be watching the greatest generation of playoff performers at the peak of their powers.
Visit adjustedhockey.com; data from Hockey-Reference.com
Recently by Paul Pidutti
- Is great goaltending necessary to win the Stanley Cup?
- Modernizing the scoring race: Draisaitl, Caufield rise while Eichel, MacKinnon fall
- Five reasons Alex Ovechkin is way better at scoring goals than you think
- The disappointing Connor Bedard’s unpaved path to stardom
- Man, Myth, Flower: The Marc-Andre Fleury retrospective
- NHL career projections: Forecasting the current generation’s final stat lines
_____
POST SPONSORED BY bet365