The Edmonton Oilers Are Just 60 Minutes Away From The "Connor McDavid Might Look Elsewhere" Discussion Going Nuclear
Andy Devlin. Getty Images.He's the best player on the planet. Everybody knows this. He is very possibly the most skilled hockey player to ever skate on a sheet of ice. The speed, the hands, the vision. Everything about Connor McDavid looks like he was created in a lab to be the most perfect hockey player to ever exist.
The only issue is that 30-40 years from now? Nobody will really give a shit if he doesn't have his name etched onto Lord Stanley. Sure, there will always be someone who is brave enough to bring his name up in discussion about the best hockey players of all-time. But they'll always be laughed out of the building if McDavid doesn't have at least one Cup win to his name. And with the Edmonton Oilers now just one more loss away from losing in the Stanley Cup Final for the 2nd consecutive year, it's time to think about what if he'll never be able to get the job done in Edmonton.
Steve Levy thinks it would be time to get his ass out of there.
This isn't anything new. People have been talking about getting McDavid out of Edmonton for years at this point before they made it to the Cup Final in 2024. But the contract is definitely a real thing.
Connor McDavid has one more year remaining on his current deal. He's making $12.5M for the 2025-26 season, and then he hits free agency on July 1, 2026. Draisaitl is already on the books for the next 5 years at $14M AAV. You figure McDavid is going to be making more than Draisaitl for sure. Is he willing to sign long-term in Edmonton to get that money? Is Edmonton going to be willing to sign him to a 2 or 3-year bridge deal and risk losing him in free agency in 2028/29?
The idea of Connor McDavid leaving Edmonton has always been a pipe dream for most hockey fans, and especially ones out east. But the fact that he only has one year left on his deal right now makes it seem more possible than ever. That is, of course, unless 97 and 29 go full kill mode and put the Oilers on their back to win these next 2 games.
There's really no way for the Oilers to get better next year. If anything, they might be worse and lose Evan Bouchard. It's not like they have a bunch of big contracts coming off the books next year. It's going to be hard for Connor McDavid to sign an extension if he's with the same exact team that just lost 2 Cup Finals in a row. But if he decides to come out east and pair up with Matvei Michkov and the Philadelphia Flyers? Well now he'll have a chance to catch up to Gretzky's 4 Cups real quick.