The Edmonton Oilers entered the 2025-26 season as huge winners before even playing a game. That's because instead of wondering if this will be their final year with face of the franchise Connor McDavid, he opted to sign an extension with the team. The terms of the deal were incredibly team-friendly, as it runs for two years at a total of $25 million.
McDavid's deal is now being viewed as a standard, to see if other superstars on other teams will accept similar contracts. McDavid agreed to these terms because he wanted to remain in Edmonton and help the Oilers build a Stanley Cup champion roster. This comes after providing vague comments about whether he would hit free agency next summer.
During an appearance on Sportsnet's 32 Thoughts podcast with Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas, McDavid's agent Judd Moldaver defended the star's process to make a contract decision.
Connor McDavid's agent defends stars decision to sign two-year contract extension with Oilers
“Connor’s process was excellent. Since the beginning of the summer, we went through things really methodically. It was important that he was able to take his time with it,” Moldaver said, h/t Sportsnet. “While his intention, publicly and privately, has always been one thing — to win a Stanley Cup as an Edmonton Oiler — the timeline to go through that process needed to be his and his alone.
“It was never about a date circled on a calendar. It was about allowing him to be wisely patient and to think through things.”
McDavid didn't provide a clear answer as to when he was going to make a decision regarding his future in Edmonton. The belief from insiders that it was entirely up to McDavid, and he could make a decision when he woke up one morning. Sure enough, that's what he did, as he signed just before the team's season-opener against the Calgary Flames.
Moldaver also discussed why McDavid decided to accept the deal he took instead of looking to break the record for highest-paid contract.
"There might have been certain permutations that I might have raised my hand and said, 'Hey, 97, maybe not that much,' perhaps, but ultimately, as a representative, you're always striving to protect your client's interests," Moldaver said, h/t Sportsnet. "(You) obviously want to push for guys to make as much money as they can. ... I think in this particular case, as Connor referenced, he's still paid very handsomely. Like he said, $25 million is still a lot of money.
"There aren't many two-year permutations that have this high a pay rate as we've seen in our sport. A lot of the time, the more years you give, the higher cap hit you receive. I still think the deal is very transcendent, notwithstanding people expecting a bigger number. At the end of this, it was always about what was going to make him feel like he's made the best decision for Connor McDavid. And I think we did that."
It's understandable why McDavid took the deal he did. The past two seasons, the Oilers emerged as the Western Conference champions and made it into the Stanley Cup Final. The goal for McDavid was to win his first Stanley Cup and bring the franchise their first championship since 1990. The Oilers ran into the Florida Panthers both times, and lost. In 2024, the Oilers overcame a 0-3 deficit to force a Game 7, but lost 2-1. Last year, the Oilers lost in six games, as they had no answers for the Panthers after tying the series 2-2.
McDavid taking the "modest" contract helped the Oilers get a head start in both keeping their roster intact and bringing in some help. The team signed defensemen Mattias Ekholm and Jake Walman to multi-year extensions. Then, they brought in Jack Roslovic on a one-year contract.
Now, the attention will be on other superstars who are due for new contracts to see if they will follow the McDavid path of taking on a short-term, team-friendly deal to help win a championship or more. Or, will they go the Kirill Kaprizov route and get the most money imaginable on their next contract