No, Connor McDavid Still Isn't Even Close to Surpassing Sidney Crosby's Legacy

Let's stir the pot.

For Connor McDavid, the overtime winner against the USA in the Four Nations Faceoff Championship is now the greatest moment of his career.

Once upon a time, back in 2010 in Vancouver, a certain Sidney Crosby scored an overtime golden goal to push the Canadians to a 3-2 victory over the Americans - a near perfect deja vu.

Last night, many may feel as though Sidney Crosby passed the proverbial torch to McDavid in person as they both shared the glories of international victory.

Crosby has passed no torch. In fact, McDavid's legacy is still pales in comparison to Crosby's legacy. Here's why.

Four Nations vs. Olympics

In the minds of the players, they have no qualms about what tournament they are playing in as long as they're wearing the colors of their country's flag. Life is on the line in country colors.

However, as much as the Four Nations finale seemed to be Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, the reality is that it was just a friendly international tournament that replaced the NHL All-Star Game.

McDavid's goal, again, is the greatest moment of his career thus far, but Crosby's golden goal carries far more weight than McDavid's winner last night. The Olympics are a sacred tradition that have been going on for literally multiple millennia. The Four Nations Faceoff was created a few months ago.

Don't mishear me, the tournament was amazing and it should be celebrated as the event that put hockey into the scope of more people than any game in decades. But Crosby's "once in a lifetime" Olympic gold makes McDavid's goal look like a 3v3 OT winner in March.

Age Factor

It's hard to believe, but Crosby was still just a young buck in his early twenties when he scored his golden goal. McDavid is 28. Crosby put Canada on his back when he was barely legal to drink. McDavid, perhaps even harder to believe, is pushing 30.

McDavid is currently the greatest player on the planet, but how will his game hold up in 10 years when he reaches Crosby's age now?

McDavid is incredibly reliant on speed and, as we saw in this tournament, got bounced around by some big checks. He might have the greatest edgework and skating ability of all time, but will he stand the test of time like Sid has when he exits his prime?

Sid has never been reliant on speed, and eventually speed leaves you. Just look at Evgeni Malkin right now. Galloping Geno was once an unstoppable force. McDavid does plenty of galloping now, and he's even more unstoppable. But look at Malkin now. His step is mostly gone.

Oh, and remember when Crosby missed three years of his prime due to concussions? Yet Sid's production followed him into his late 30s with no drop-off. The jury is still out on McDavid doing this.

Stanley Cups

I don't know the answer to this, but I think I know what McDavid thinks. Is he stoked to win the Four Nations Faceoff? Absolutely. Does he care that much, though? Absolutely not.

The locker room video of McDavid during the Stanley Cup Final last season is incredibly telling of where his mind is at. All he wants is to win a Stanley Cup. The Edmonton Oilers came just a toenail away from pulling off a reverse sweep against the Florida Panthers.

Had they done that, this article would not exist, nor would I even think to write it.

The reality, though, is McDavid hasn't won a Stanley Cup.

And before you come after me claiming that Crosby had plenty of help in his Cup runs, is Leon Draisaitl not McDavid's Evgeni Malkin? Is the Oilers' supporting cast not built to win championships? You can't say no with a straight face.

Sid captained the Penguins to a Stanley Cup when he was 21 years old in 2009 (the youngest captain ever to do so), then again in back-to-back seasons at 29 and 30.

Crosby will forever have the youth success in his legacy exceeding McDavid, but McDavid is running out of time to catch up with Sid's winning.

I thought last year was going to be McDavid's year to etch his name next to Crosby on hockey Mount Rushmore, but he came up short, and as of now, he's still at the observation deck looking out at the mountain.

Dan Marino Syndrome

Connor McDavid is the greatest hockey player on the planet right now. I concede that, and I'm sure everyone would agree.

However, winning is everything in sports.

The greats of the past slowly fade in time no matter how great they are, but one thing keeps them alive in the minds of fans and historians alike: winning.

Wayne Gretzky, the Great One, the undisputed greatest hockey player of all time, won four Stanley Cups.

Mario Lemieux, El Magnifique, widely regarded as the greatest hockey player behind Gretzky, won two Stanley Cups.

Sidney Crosby, Sid the Kid, the greatest hockey player of the 21st century, won three Stanley Cups and can still, theoretically, win more.

Connor McDavid, The Chosen One, the greatest hockey player among any who step on the ice right now in 2025, has won nothing yet.

Dan Marino, Dan the Man, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time (and a Pittsburgh guy, I might add), won nothing...ever.

Is Marino still among the greatest to ever play football? Yes. But is he in the same conversation as Brady, Montana, Manning? No. Winning is remembered.

And if you disagree with me, sit down with Connor McDavid. He'll will tell you the exact same thing. I can't verify that in all sincerity, but just watch him. He didn't even come out to accept the Conn Smythe trophy in the Finals last season.

Only one trophy matters in hockey. It's not the Conn Smythe, Art Ross, Hart Memorial, Ted Lindsay, "Rocket" Richard, or Mark Messier.

The only one that matters is Lord Stanley - the greatest trophy in sports.

An aside: Crosby has won all of the aforementioned awards, among others, including the elusive Stanley Cup.

As of February 2025, Sidney Crosby has built a legacy that no current NHL player is even close to surpassing - including the greatest player in hockey right now, Connor McDavid.