The Connor McDavid contract extension saga is officially over, the Edmonton Oilers were able to sign their star captain to a new deal kicking off for the 2026-27 season. The deal will keep McDavid in Oil Country until 2028, where he is set to become an Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA) on July 1st.
General manager Stan Bowman was once again able to maneuver the cap well, locking McDavid down to a $12.5 million average annual value (AAV). This is the exact same cap number that his previous eight-year extension carried, that he signed in July, 2017.
Although these are both victories and big ones at that, it is important for fans to recognize that the McDavid extension puts a lot of pressure on the team, the coaching staff, and the management.
“I have every intention to win in Edmonton"
The rumblings for a while have been that McDavid was cautious about signing an extension to stay in Edmonton because he was not entirely confident in the long term future of the organization. He made it very clear that he wants to win and he wants to do it as an Oiler.
“I have every intention to win in Edmonton. That’s my only focus, maybe next to winning the gold with Canada.”
He solidified this on Monday, when he re-signed with the club that drafted him first overall in 2015 and the club he has scored over 1,000 points with. The same club that he has went to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals with, he has repeatedly gotten so close but no cigar.
Cup or bust for the Oilers
Although McDavid finally put his signature on the dotted line, it cannot be ignored that he only did it for two extra years. That means that the team has three years to either win a cup or convince their generational talent that staying in Northern Alberta is worth it.
In the Oilers own press release, the comments from general manager Stan Bowman admitted as such "Connor's commitment to our team and our city is surpassed only by his singular focus of bringing a Stanley Cup back to fans of the Edmonton Oilers,"
McDavid wants to win and he clearly wants to win as a member of the Edmonton Oilers but these are mutually exclusive. The Oilers will have to prove to him that they can make a championship calibre team and keep it together year-over-year.
If not, well, we may see in 2028.