Wayne Gretzky says Connor McDavid is ‘best player in last 30 years’

What does the last great franchise player for the Edmonton Oilers think of the future great franchise player for the Edmonton Oilers?

No, not Jason Bonsignore – Wayne Gretzky!

“I hope he brings Edmonton a Stanley Cup and he breaks my records ... he’s got the talent and the makeup to do it. I hope he leaves a couple for me, though. I could use that,” Gretzky said of Connor McDavid, as told to Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal.

From the Journal:

“He’s as good as I’ve seen in the last 30 years, the best player to come into the league in the last 30 years, the best to come along since (Mario) Lemieux and (Sidney) Crosby. He can definitely change a franchise’s fortunes,” said Gretzky, who feels Edmonton will be like a nice warm blanket for the teenager from Toronto, just as it was for Gretzky, who was born in Brantford, Ont.

[Ed. Note: “The best player to come into the league in the last 30 years” would seem to indicate better than Crosby, no?]

”I think it’ll be a perfect fit for Connor in Edmonton. Not one bit is Edmonton a suffocating place to play. He’ll be treated like an Edmontonian. People will give him his privacy while they’re enamoured by his ability.”

Gretzky said for a player McDavid’s age, “he’s very mature for an 18-year-old who’s rated No. 1.”

Hey, that sounds familiar! Gretzky on Sidney Crosby, circa 2005: "He's probably more mature at 17 than maybe I was.”

Now … who officially gets to be “The Next One?”