The future of the Oilers’ Connor McDavid in Edmonton has been a hot topic of conversation all summer as season approaches with the Canadian sensation having not yet agreed upon an extension.
The majority of claims from McDavid’s camp have centered around his desire to win and emphasizing his focus on taking advantage of the season ahead as Connor hopes to right the wrongs of the last 2 Stanley Cup final losses going into the final year of his current deal.
Until a contract agreement has been announced, there will be speculation across the hockey world about the seemingly unthinkable possibility that Connor McDavid could leave Edmonton and pursue a new NHL destination. One such analyst from an acclaimed hockey podcast believes this could be the case.
Matt Murley on McDavid
Matt Murley of Spittin’ Chiclets claimed on the latest episode that he believes in a future hypothetical landscape in which Connor McDavid plays for a team that is not the Oilers. He stated pressure from the NHLPA and his agent wanting him to make as much bank as possible on his next deal as big reasons why.
The McDavid contract will be the ceiling of what future NHL extensions look like. It will set a precedent that determines what deals around the league will look like for years to come. McDavid would likely not be able to make the money with Edmonton that would significantly raise the bar of what NHL contracts would look like moving forward compared to the other major sports leagues. But, he could make quite a bit more elsewhere on teams with more flexible cap situations than the Oilers.
A McDavid-less Oilers may sound like a fever dream, but crazier things have happened in the sporting universe. Wayne Gretzky being traded from Edmonton in the 80s would have sounded like a ridiculous proposition at the time, but it happened. If/when a deal gets done, we can only wait and see what happens with the modern best player in the game. Will history repeat itself?
