There is no bigger question mark in the NHL right now than the one hanging out with Connor McDavid.
What is the best player on the planet going to do as he enters the final year of his contract with the Edmonton Oilers?
The Oilers would like to know. The Edmonton fans would like to know. So would the rest of the NHL, with potentially interested teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs looming in the background waiting to see what might happen.
NHL insider Frank Seravelli provided an interesting update on the B/R Open Ice stream on Tuesday in which he essentially said it doesn’t seem like McDavid will agree to a new deal before training camp starts on Sept. 15. And once camp starts, negotiations become just a bit more of a distraction.
“So far, I haven’t really heard any panic,” Seravelli said. “What I can glean from that, and not to say that things can’t change, but my understanding would be that I don’t think we’re gonna see Connor McDavid sign a new contract extension before the start of training camp around September 15.”
Seravelli continued with some insight on the team side.
“I think the Edmonton Oilers are a little bit flummoxed as to why this has taken so long,” Seravelli said. “There hasn’t been too much engagement. They haven’t talked numbers or anything like that in terms of trying to advance that conversation forward. The harder part for me is trying to wrap my head around what might change in order to make that happen.”
McDavid is part of a loaded free agent class that also includes Jack Eichel and Kirill Kaprizov.
MORE: Kirill Kaprizov gets a contract timeline update
The Canadian superstar McDavid is the shining star of the bunch.
He’ll turn 29 years old in January, and he’s coming off an 100-point season in which he had 26 goals and 74 assists in just 67 games. In his career, he has played 712 games and put up 1,082 points, broken down between 36 goals and 721 assists.
McDavid has led the NHL in points in five separate seasons and in assists in four separate campaigns.
The Oilers have lost in each of the last two Stanley Cup Finals. McDavid surely wants to feel like Edmonton is still the best shot for him to try and finally lift that elusive Cup.
Regardless, his next moves will be awaited and scrutinized heavily.
MORE: The latest on Jack Eichel and the Vegas Golden Knights
