At 26-years-old, Connor McDavid is already entering the conversation as one of the greatest hockey players of all time. He has been the best player in the National Hockey League for multiple years, and continues to get better after a ludicrous 64-goal, 153-point campaign in 2022-23.

But, according to the Edmonton Oilers captain, there's one thing that needs to happen for him to cement himself as one of the game's all-time greats.

“I think hockey is a team game, but with that being said, all those great guys have won before and it's certainly something that we're after in Edmonton,” McDavid explained on Wednesday ahead of his first preseason game of 2023-24. “There has been no shortage of talk or coverage on that, but I certainly feel that the greats have all won and that's what you have to do.”

McDavid's Oilers enter the 2023-24 campaign as one of the premier teams in the Western Conference, led by he and Leon Draisaitl, but also relying on the continued success of star defenseman Evan Bouchard and Calder Trophy finalist Stuart Skinner in net.

“It's a team game and it's not like basketball or football where the quarterback gets the ball every play, and basketball where you can play 45 minutes and have the ball every possession,” McDavid continued.

“It's a team game — maybe the ultimate team game there is — and it takes everybody, a full organization. It takes everybody to stay healthy and a little bit of luck too.”

Edmonton has been knocking on the door of Western Conference supremacy for the last few campaigns. They lost to the eventual champion Colorado Avalanche in the 2022 Western Conference Final, and were defeated by the 2023 Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights in the second-round last postseason.

The belief in Alberta is that a team led by Connor McDavid can bring a Stanley Cup to the Canadian province for the first time since 1990, but it's difficult to get over the hump with so many good teams.

Still, the 2023-24 Edmonton Oilers are a juggernaut, and the work continues for the captain as he looks to win his first Stanley Cup and cement himself as a legend of the game.