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Who do NHL players want on their team when the game is on the line? Connor McDavid.

Photo credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
By Zach Laing
Jun 17, 2021, 16:44 EDTUpdated: Jun 17, 2021, 17:32 EDT
Roughly 500 NHL players took part in a post-season poll of 14-related hockey questions for the annual NHLPA player poll.
One question was simple: if you could have any player in the NHL on your team in a must-win match, who would it be? A majority 36.74 percent of the votes came in for Connor McDavid.
It’s no big surprise, either. He was far and away the best player in the NHL this season scoring 33 goals and an incredible 105 points in 56 games this year — 16 points more than his next closest competitor in Leon Draisaitl, who scored 84 points, and another 15 away from Brad Machand’s 69 points.
It’s a tremendous nod to someone who undoubtedly will take home another Hart Trophy this year.
When it comes to stick-handlers, McDavid was voted as the second-best in the league. Patrick Kane took the cake with 49.48 percent of the votes, while McDavid was tailed with 25.79 percent of the votes.
McDavid also got an honourable mention as the league’s best goal scorer (4.56 percent) and was rated as the league’s fourth-most complete player with 7.22 percent of the votes.
Leon Draisaitl also found himself in some of the conversations, too. He came in third place as the league’s best passer, garnishing 18.39 percent of the votes behind Patrick Kane and Nicklas Backstrom, respectively.
You can see the full results here.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.
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