Sidney Crosby is currently the best player in the world and anyone who attempts to argue that is delusional. Crosby’s long list of accomplishments to date are not even comparable to the youngster Connor McDavid’s current resume.  

Crosby is in the midst of his thirteenth season in the NHL and has already  captained his team to three Stanley Cup Championships. Connor McDavid is in his third season in the NHL and has made the playoffs once. The duo makes up the top two players in the league, but Crosby is still labeled number one. 

When comparing both Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid, there are so many similarities it is scary. Both were deemed to be the next great thing in hockey at a very young age and tore up the junior league they played in. Their individual successes are also impressive, but Crosby still has the edge in most of the major categories. 

In Sidney Crosby’s rookie season in the NHL, he had 102 points in 81 games, averaging 1.26 points per game. In the 2015-2016 NHL season, which was McDavid’s rookie campaign, he tallied 48 points in 45 games, averaging 1.07 points per game. McDavid’s rookie year was shortened due to a broken clavicle he suffered in November of 2015. 

Crosby is a decade older than McDavid, allowing him to amass an amazing career to this point and helping in being the best player in the world. Sidney Crosby has won three Stanley Cups, two Olympic Gold Medals, two Conn Smythe Trophies, and the list goes on and on. He has been the league’s top player for thirteen years now, and has shown no signs of slowing down any time soon.

Currently at the age of 30, Crosby is competing in his thirteenth season with the Pittsburgh Penguins and looking to complete a three-peat of Stanley Cup Championships. He has lead his team to the playoffs the past eleven years ad to the finals a total of four times.  Winning the 2017 Rocket Richard trophy for the most goals in the regular season, Crosby is still producing at a rapid rate. Sidney Crosby helped the team reach the Stanley Cup Final in only his third season in the NHL in 2008 and again in 2009, 2016 and 2017. 

Connor McDavid is the fastest player that hockey has ever seen. Being named the captain of the Edmonton Oilers entering his second season is obviously a special feat, but McDavid did not stop there. He led the Oilers to the post season in his second season, breaking a decade long post season drought. McDavid definitely has the potential to become the best player in the world as he matures, but at this point in time he is still behind Crosby.  

Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid are two of the greatest players hockey has ever seen and we are all extremely fortunate to watch them in the same era. Sidney Crosby has been on top of the league for over a decade now and isn’t slowing down, he still deserves to be called the best player in the world for a few years to come. With Crosby getting older, there is no doubt that Connor McDavid will become the best player in the world, and may even have a better career than Crosby when it is all said and done. But for now, Crosby is the best and there isn’t an argument that is even valid.