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Connor McDavid could be entering his final season with the Edmonton Oilers.
McDavid, 28, has spent his entire 10-year NHL career in Edmonton after the Oilers drafted him first overall in 2015. But the three-time Hart Memorial and 2024 Conn Smythe winner is still without a contract extension, even as the last season of his eight-year, $100 million contract draws near.
With pressure surely on the front office to retain the future Hall of Famer, Oilers general manager Stan Bowman commented on the matter.
“(McDavid is) a huge part of everything we do here, and so I don't have a timeline update, but I do expect to have some conversations with them soon and hopefully get that wrapped up,” Bowman told CHED 880's Bob Stauffer.
McDavid had an injury-affected season in 2024, although everything with the superstar is relative. In 67 games (the lowest total in an 82-game season since his rookie year), he tallied 26 goals (fewest since rookie year), 74 assists (fewest since 2020-21), and 100 points (fewest since 2019-20).
It is widely expected that the numbers would be similar to those he put up over the previous few seasons, when he led the NHL in goals once, assists twice, and points three times.
In the playoffs, McDavid continued to be strong; although he did not earn the Conn Smythe like in 2024, he led all players with 26 assists and 33 points while adding seven goals in 22 games.
Unfortunately, for the second straight year, Edmonton lost in the Stanley Cup Final to the Florida Panthers, who won in double overtime in Game 2 and routed the Oilers in the other three Florida wins. Both of Edmonton's two wins in the SCF came in overtime.
Although the postseason shortcomings have and will continue to linger for the Oilers, it is obviously in their best interest to keep McDavid around for as long as possible.
The 2025-26 campaign marks the final year of the deal he signed back in July 2017, and while he would remain one of the highest-paid players in the NHL if he simply signed for the same terms, there is no chance of that happening.
Leon Draisaitl, McDavid's co-superstar who is a little over a year older than him, signed an eight-year, $112 million contract, giving him the highest annual average value (AAV) of any player in the league.
McDavid can assuredly demand and get more than that, but there is speculation that he may sign a shorter-term deal for $16M annually or more, prioritizing a higher AAV over the long-term security Draisaitl got. It is expected that McDavid and the Oilers will negotiate more aggressively in August.
