Make no mistake, Connor McDavid is the best hockey player on the planet.

But this season, he may not have been the best player on his own team.

It was a rough year for McDavid, who scored only 26 goals and 100 points, but the Oilers superstar played in the third-fewest regular season games of his career in a full season, lacing up for just 66 games. On a per-game and per hour rate his offensive game was still excellent for the team, and when he was on the ice, the Oilers dominated.

They dominated all of the shot attempt, scoring chance and expected goal share with McDavid on the ice in both the regular season and the playoffs, but there was one glaring issue: the goals against. His 2.9 goals against per hour at five-on-five was his worst mark in the last five years, but it’s easy to see why. The Oilers’ save percentage when McDavid was on the ice was a paltry .882 — the worst mark of his entire career — as those issues dragged into the playoffs.

Despite all that, his impacts on the game are almost second to none. He drove offence at an 18 percent rate above league average and defence at a five percent rate above league average, according to Hockey Viz. He impacted both special teams in a big way, too, with power play contributions at a seven percent rate above league average and penalty kill work at a three percent rate above league average. Overall, his impacts are nearly four-times greater than that of an average first-line player.

McDavid missed three games due to a suspension for cross-checking Vancouver Canucks winger Conor Garland in late January, and after he returned, his game wasn’t quite the same. Though he eventually found his mojo, he was injured in March game against the Winnipeg Jets that would force him out of the lineup for eight games late in the season.

He came back no worse for wear in the playoffs as he put together another solid playoffs, but when the games mattered the most against the Florida Panthers, he struggled to produce. While he racked up five assists in Games 1 and 2 of the series, the Oilers captain would have just a goal and an assist in the final four games of the Stanley Cup Final.

All of it aside, McDavid’s contract extension that will come through this summer will surely make him the highest paid player in the NHL.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.