The Edmonton Oilers have been arguably the second best team in the NHL over the past few seasons, but they have nothing to show for it. This season ended in a similar fashion as the last, with the Oilers losing out to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final once again.

Obviously, Connor McDavid has been a massive reason for the Oilers' rise in the Western Conference and their ability to win the conference title in back-to-back years. Now, it is time for Edmonton to pay the piper. McDavid will be a free agent after next season, making him eligible for a contract extension this summer.

Despite plenty of buzz about what the three-time Hart Trophy winner might do, the likely outcome is still that he re-signs with the Oilers on a shorter-term deal this offseason, according to NHL insider Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.

“Echoing what colleague Chris Johnston wrote this past week, I think there’s a good chance McDavid will sign a shorter deal instead of an eight-year max one,” LeBrun wrote. Whether that’s two years or three or five or six, time will tell.

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“McDavid’s agent is Judd Moldaver, who did a four-year extension for superstar Auston Matthews with the Maple Leafs two years ago. He isn’t focused on eight-year max deals in all situations. And McDavid is still only 28. So a three-year deal, for instance, would put him back in an unrestricted-free-agent leverage position at 31, when he’s still in his prime.”

If McDavid were to leave this offseason, LeBrun also highlighted the Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks and the Dallas Stars as four potential landing spots for him. A potential McDavid trade would take over the NHL offseason and would net the Oilers a massive return, but nothing would stack up to the value he provides when he is on the ice.

Simply put, the Oilers are not a contender without McDavid, and they do not reach either of the last two Stanley Cup Finals without him. The combination of him and Leon Draisaitl have carried the Edmonton offense even through defensive struggles and inconsistency in goal over the last few years, and the Oilers should do whatever they can to keep him around.