‘Everything’s on the table’ for Connor McDavid’s NHL future

Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid sat in a news conference days after losing in the Stanley Cup Final to the Florida Panthers for the second straight season. He was peppered with questions about his future, with unrestricted free agency looming in summer 2026 if he doesn’t sign an extension with the Oilers.

The Edmonton media was fishing for any sign that McDavid was committed to the organization and the city, but he wasn’t biting. Someone asked if he had a sense of unfinished business with his teammates after coming so close to raising the Cup, losing in seven games to Florida last season and in six games this month.

“This core has been together for a long time and we’ve been building to this moment all along. The work that’s gone on behind the scenes, the conversations, the endless disappointments and some good times along the way, obviously. We’re all in this together, trying to get it over that finish line,” McDavid said.

Then came the four words that shook a city to its soul.

“With that being said,” McDavid continued, “ultimately, I still need to do what’s best for me and my family. That’s who you have to take care of first.”

It was the first time McDavid even hinted at hesitation about his future in Edmonton. He’s entering the final season of an eight-year, $100 million deal signed in July 2017. Many assumed the ink would be drying on an extension with the Oilers — in what is expected to be the richest contract in NHL history — when he’s eligible to sign on July 1. But McDavid is unlikely to sign that extension unless he is comfortable with the progress Edmonton’s made in improving its roster for next season and beyond.

“I’m not in a rush to make any decision, so I don’t think that there needs to be any timeline,” McDavid said. “I know people are going to look at July 1 and will be looking to see if there’s anything done. But for me, no, I’m just not in a rush in that way.”

An NHL source said that McDavid isn’t committed, at this point, to staying with the Oilers beyond next season. But he’s also not committed to moving on from the organization that drafted him first overall in 2015.

“He’s trying to find reasons to stay, not to leave,” the source said. “But everything’s on the table for Connor right now.”

IF MCDAVID DOESN’T RE-SIGN with the Oilers, it would be an unprecedented moment in the history of NHL free agency. Never before has a generational talent — with multiple MVP awards and scoring titles to his credit — reached unrestricted free agency in his prime.

There might not be a comparative moment in North American professional sports since LeBron James and “The Decision” in 2010 — although given what fans and players have been chanting about McDavid after the Panthers’ second Stanley Cup win over Edmonton, one assumes McDavid won’t be taking his talents to South Beach.

With Stanley Cup contention as his goal, the pool of teams with whom McDavid would consider signing is limited. There’s been speculation about the Ontario native having a homecoming with the Toronto Maple Leafsstill seeking their first Stanley Cup since 1967; that he could join former Oilers GM Ken Holland with the Los Angeles Kings; that the New York Rangers could make him the king of Broadway while easing his goaltending headaches with Igor Shesterkin; or that well-maintained franchises like the Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights, Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning could make their pitches.

McDavid is committed to Edmonton for the 2025-26 season. That list of potential suitors could change in that span, depending on their own fortunes.

After Leon Draisaitl inked an eight-year, $112 million deal last summer — a contract that will keep him in Edmonton until 2033 — many assumed McDavid’s extension would be a mere formality. After all, why would Draisaitl sign without some indication that his close friend and frequent linemate McDavid would do the same?

But sources told ESPN in January that one signing was not a harbinger of the other, and that McDavid would make his own decision independent of Draisaitl’s.

But make no mistake: Draisaitl is a factor in McDavid’s decision. As are defenseman Evan Bouchardforward Zach Hymanforward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and every other core player who theoretically will be in Edmonton for the next several seasons. As McDavid said, the core has been through playoff battles together, and there’s a sense of unfinished business for him in Edmonton.

“We were two games away from winning. Last year, we were two shots away from winning, so the belief is incredibly high in that room,” he said. “We talked about that all throughout the playoffs, and we do believe that this group can win and will win.”

But for all that belief, McDavid wants to understand the plan for how the team can win in the short term and the long term. It’s an essential part of his decision-making process to remain in Edmonton.

He wants to know how a team with just over $10 million in cap space, without much draft capital and the 30th-ranked prospect poolcan make the necessary moves to get over the championship hump and remain competitive. Last summer, that pool of young players got thinner when forward Dylan Holloway and defenseman Phillip Broberg were poached by the St. Louis Blues via offer sheets.

McDavid nodded at that thin prospect pool during his press conference. “It’s not like we have a ton of cap room and we’ve got a long list of highly touted prospects knocking on the door,” he said.

McDavid reiterated: “If I feel that there’s a good window to win here over and over again, then signing is no problem.”

GM Stan Bowman didn’t necessarily agree that pitching McDavid on the Oilers’ window to win was any more vital than meeting his asking price during negotiations.

“I don’t know if you have to sell one thing any more than another,” he said.

But Bowman knows that convincing McDavid of Edmonton’s continuing commitment to win is paramount. When he was hired to replace Holland last summer, Bowman visited with McDavid, who told him that he wanted to win the Stanley Cup.

“That was it. We didn’t talk about anything else. This is his singular focus,” Bowman said.

“I guess it’s my job to connect with Connor and demonstrate that’s what we’re all trying to do. We all have the same objective. I know how passionate he is about winning. It’s what I love about him,” he said. “He’s not just a fantastic hockey player, but he’s a great person, a great leader, and he’s incredibly motivated to do whatever it takes.”

IF MCDAVID ULTIMATELY RE-SIGNS with the Oilers, what he hears from Bowman could determine the length of that contract. There’s a growing belief that McDavid may not sign an eight-year extension like Draisaitl, but could explore something in the three- to five-year range. That would allow him to attempt to finish the “unfinished business” with the core in Edmonton, while reaching UFA status in his early 30s with the NHL salary cap projected to continue its record-setting ascent.

Another reason to believe this could happen is Judd Moldaver, executive vice president at Wasserman and McDavid’s agent. He was the first NHL agent in the salary cap era to seek contracts for superstar clients with significantly less than maximum term. He’s gone shorter than eight years on blockbuster extensions for Maple Leafs star Auston Matthewswith a five-year deal in 2019 and a four-year deal signed in 2023, as well as Columbus Blue Jackets star Zach Werenski (six years, signed in 2021). He could seek to do the same for McDavid.

Matthews had the league’s highest cap hit ($13.25 million average annual value) before Draisaitl’s contract ($14 million AAV) kicks in next season.

McDavid is all but certain to eclipse that. His next contract — at whatever length it ends up being — will range between $15.5 million and $19 million per year on a max deal, multiple sources indicated to ESPN. Anything above Draisaitl’s cap hit would set a new NHL record for highest average annual value in the cap era.

The money will take care of itself. It’s Connor McDavid, the guy with three Hart trophies as NHL MVP, a Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP and five scoring titles. In theory, the contract negotiation with McDavid is essentially a general manager asking how much he needs, and then writing the check.

But McDavid has said that the chance to lift the Stanley Cup is more important than his bank account.

“Winning would be at the top of the list,” he said. “It’s the most important thing.”

The Oilers are confident that, after two trips to the Stanley Cup Final, they offer the best shot at winning for McDavid. But they also offer the comfort of being the only NHL home he’s known.

McDavid and his wife, Lauren Kyle McDavid, have a house in the Parkview area of Edmonton that was featured by Architectural Digest. Kyle McDavid also recently helped open the stylish Bar Trove in Edmonton that features Trove Living, a retail home furnishing store on the floor above it. Her company, Kyle & Co. Design, is located on the third floor of the building.

Given his history with the team and his roots in the city, the Oilers are optimistic but patient with McDavid.

“He’s earned the right for us to be respectful of his timing. Certainly we’re eager to meet with him whenever he wants, but we also understand that he just went through a very tough ending to the season,” Bowman said.

Last year, Leon Draisaitl didn’t sign his extension until Sept. 3.

“Timing-wise, Connor’s going to drive that process, but there’s no question he’s a pivotal player on our team for not just what he does on the ice, but his leadership,” Bowman said. “I’ve had a chance to work with him now and I’ve been just so impressed with things you guys probably don’t see. He’s incredibly important to our group and whenever he’s ready, we’re going to dive into that.”

Near the end of his news conference, McDavid was asked by a local reporter for a message to the fans. The ones that have been on this journey with the Oilers during his time with the team. The ones “wanting to see what exactly happens with your future here” in Edmonton, as the questioner put it.

“My message to the fans would be to keep being patient and keep believing. They’ve been through a lot, just like our team has. The emotional highs, the lows. I look at what these playoff runs do to my family. It’s hard on them. It’s hard on the fans. It’s hard on everybody. But ultimately when that day comes, it’ll all be worth it,” he said. “These moments are tough now. But when that moment comes, it’ll be worth the wait for sure.”

The message wasn’t a passionate commitment to stay in Edmonton nor was it a declaration that his bags are packed for free agency. The message was that a championship will make all the postseason heartache worth the pain. As the NHL offseason begins, where McDavid might eventually win that championship is, at this moment, uncertain.