The question with the Edmonton Oilers and Connor McDavid is not if he will re-sign, but for how much.
McDavid has just one year remaining on his current $12.5 million contract, and he could, theoretically, hit the open market next summer and listen to the entire league beg for his services.
But, McDavid seems like he wants to deliver the franchise that drafted him first overall in 2015 its first Stanley Cup since 1990. He also does not seem like the player or person to spurn the Oilers without a fair warning.
Here is what NHL Insider David Pagnotta forecasted on “Melnick in the Afternoon:”
“My guess is in that $16 million range, over a 4 or 5-year extension, 16 to 17, in that vicinity.”
Whatever McDavid earns, it will make him the highest-paid player in NHL history on an annual average. Paying all that money to him, Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, and Darnell Nurse would strain their depth. But, especially with the salary cap on the rise, it is a worthy sacrifice.
Edmonton has done well to bolster its forward group this summer, adding rookies Isaac Howard and Matthew Savoie, as well as Andrew Mangiapane for 2025-26. Will they be enough to hoist the Cup?
That remains to be seen.
But the Oilers are making the right moves, and few places offer as good a chance to win for McDavid. Sure, Edmonton was dismantled by the Florida Panthers in this year’s rematch, and while it is still a notch or two below the two-time defending champions, it is a notch or two above everyone else.
Does McDavid really want to risk it all?
