Crosby or Ovechkin? Ronaldo or Messi? Brady or Manning? The title of “best player in the world” is a source of endless debate in the world of sports. But in the NHL, we haven’t heard many of those debates in a while. That’s because Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid is the league’s undisputed king, and it’s been that way for nearly a decade.

Each year, Daily Faceoff analyst Paul Pidutti selects the best player in the NHL with a title he calls “The Torch.” The purpose of The Torch isn’t to crown the top player in a single season like an MVP award, but rather to name the player who is widely accepted as the best in the world at a given time. On Wednesday, he declared that The Torch is remaining in McDavid’s hands for the ninth consecutive year.

“The hardware totals are now: Ross (x6); Lindsay (x5); Hart (x3); Richard (x1); plus a Smythe and Olympic MVP in losing causes,” wrote Pidutti. “But it’s more how McDavid has played. He’s a cheat code, an evolutionary marvel of speed, touch, and vision.”

Pidutti has named a winner of The Torch for every year in the NHL’s history. Scanning through the list provides a fascinating snapshot of who was on top of the hockey world at a given period in history.

McDavid joins two other players in NHL history who have held The Torch for nine straight years: Sidney Crosby (2009-17) and Oilers legend Wayne Gretzky (1980-88).

Gretzky was a force unlike anything the NHL had seen, winning eight Hart Trophies during his nine-year run at the top of the world.

Crosby separated himself from Alex Ovechkin during his Cup-winning 2009 campaign and held the title until 2017, when he won his third Stanley Cup.

In 2018, McDavid finally wrestled the title away from Crosby, and he’s held it ever since. Now that he’s been on top for so long, it would be easy for fans in Edmonton to take McDavid’s run for granted. We watch him every game. Many of us see him live in person regularly. We’re spoiled.

Occasionally, it’s important to take a step back and consider what we’re witnessing right now. We are living through one of the greatest individual peaks in the sport’s history. If he can put together another magnificent season in 2026-27, McDavid will hold The Torch’s longest uninterrupted run ever.

Over the last decade, McDavid’s title as best player in the world has held firm, even in the most talented era in NHL history.

Auston Matthews looked like a potential threat after a 60-goal MVP campaign in 2022, but McDavid left him in the dust a year later when he produced a jaw-dropping 64 goals and 153 points. Nathan MacKinnon and Nikita Kucherov have posted similar offensive totals to McDavid over the past few years, but McDavid’s dominance in the playoffs and at the Olympics still separates him.

In the 2024 postseason, he put up 42 points in 25 games, which might be the single greatest playoff run in NHL history. And his 2026 Olympics will be remembered as one of the greatest individual tournaments we’ve ever seen. Both came in losing efforts, marking the only stain on an otherwise flawless legacy—one he will be determined to remove over the next few years.

It’s been a pleasure to witness McDavid’s historic run in Edmonton, but sadly, it will not last forever. In Pidutti’s piece, he makes an observation that no Oilers fan will want to hear:

“Crosby’s last Torch was the summer he turned 30. McDavid turns 30 in January 2027. Is Macklin Celebrini (or someone else) ready to steal The Torch in 2027?”

McDavid will be among the NHL’s elite for a long time, but he may only have a couple of years (or less) as the undisputed best in the world. Enjoy it while he’s still near the peak of his ability, because we may not see another player like him for a very long time.

The Nation Golf Tournament driven by GMC is back Friday, August 28, 2026! Which means it’s once again socially acceptable to skip work on a Friday for “networking.” Join us on Friday, August 28, 2026, at Mill Woods Golf Course for an 18-hole Texas scramble shotgun start, questionable swing decisions, and enough chirping to last the entire offseason. Grab your squad and sign up now at nationexperiences.ca before it sells out!