Which players have defined the 2021-22 NHL season to date? Igor Shesterkin likely comes to mind, as he’s on track to win the Vezina Trophy as top goaltender and challenge for the Hart Trophy as league MVP. Auston Matthews’ goal-scoring prowess has earned many a headline, as have the incredible offensive performances of blueliners Cale Makar and Roman Josi.

Meanwhile, Connor McDavid has gone about his business with, arguably, less fanfare than normal. He “only” has 95 points in 64 games last season, which represents mere superhuman production. That places him below the “deity” standard he set last season, in which he video-gamed his way to 105 points in 56 games.

Still, even if we aren’t buzzing about him feverishly like we were a year ago, McDavid remains the most dominant point accumulator in hockey. His 95 points are five more than Edmonton Oilers teammate Leon Draisaitl’s 90. McDavid has a seven-point cushion over third-place Jonathan Huberdeau. And we know McDavid has a history of finishing strongly. In his seven NHL seasons, he averages 1.34 points per game from October through February. In March, April and May? 1.64. He has 16 points and seven multi-point efforts in his past eight games. It’s happening again.

We can thus probably expect McDavid to win the Art Ross Trophy for the fourth time in the past six years.