The NHL 15: What will happen with Connor McDavid's contract?

Until he signs a new contract extension with the Edmonton Oilers it is going to be a storyline and talking point.

Before each NHL season I look at 15 players that I think are the most intriguing players in the NHL. Not necessarily the best players (though, sometimes they are), but players that offer some sort of intrigue, a big storyline or figure to be a major X-factor for the season. This is The NHL 15. We start today with the best player in hockey, Connor McDavid, and his future with the Edmonton Oilers.

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When all is said and done I am fairly certain Connor McDavid is going to have a new contract with the Edmonton Oilers before the end of the 2025-26 season.

Nothing is ever 100 percent certain, so I suppose there is still that 1 or 2 percent chance he says, “nah, I’m good,” and bails, but I just can not envision a scenario where the best player in hockey, still in the prime of his career, ends up hitting the unrestricted free agent market. It would be completely unheard of in the modern-day NHL and I just do not see McDavid being the player to change that.

Come hell or high water they are going to get something done.

But the fact the Oilers and McDavid have not already put pen to paper on a new deal as soon as they were eligible to do so is probably creating some unnecessary anxiety for Oilers fans. Especially since talks seem to be going slowly and a little complicated.

Had the Oilers not found team success in recent years with back-to-back Stanley Cup Final runs this situation would probably be a little more unsettled than it is. McDavid wants to win, and he knows he needs to win for his legacy. The first part of McDavid’s career was a series of wasted seasons and missed opportunities as they failed to put a competent team around him. While the team still has some big flaws — *cough* goaltending *cough* — the complementary cast of players is definitely better and they have at least been good enough to knock on the door of a championship. They just keep running into the Florida Panthers.

Had the franchise continued to spin its wheels in the mud and not get anywhere, I could have easily seen a scenario where he would have said “get me the hell out of here.”

But they haven’t spun their wheels. They’ve made real progress and had real success. They have won 12 playoff series over the past four years, reached at least the Conference Finals three times and the Stanley Cup Final two times, including a Game 7. They are close. He can win there. He knows he can win there. Hell, he probably wants to win there. That all changes everything.

Still, until a new contract is signed this is the biggest on-ice story in the NHL for the season.

So let’s talk about what it might look like and how that could impact the Oilers.