It was at all times expected that Connor McDavid would once more develop into the highest-paid player within the NHL, especially after Edmonton Oilers teammate Leon Draisaitl signed an eight-year, $112 million contract a 12 months ago. But McDavid had different ideas.
As the ultimate season of his eight-year, $100 million deal approached, McDavid participated in negotiations with the Oilers, who, in line with The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, didn’t really know what McDavid wanted by way of an extension. The belief, in fact, was that it could include a pay raise. In any case, McDavid had held the very best AAV of any player within the NHL from 2018 to 2023, when the Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon got a deal price $12.6 million per 12 months, $100,000 greater than McDavid. Auston Matthews then signed at a $13.25 million AAV, and Draisaitl got $14 million per 12 months.
It might have been only logical for McDavid, who has recorded five consecutive 100-point seasons and hit 100 points eight times within the nine seasons since his rookie 12 months, to interrupt the cap hit record set by Draisaitl after which the Minnesota Wild’s Kirill Kaprizov, even when he didn’t plan to sign nearly as long a contract.
But that did not occur. As an alternative, McDavid re-signed for 2 years on the $12.5 million AAV his last deal had.
“Which was actually a surprise to us,” Oilers CEO Jeff Jackson said, via LeBrun. “But that’s so on-brand for Connor.”
While it could not have been clear during negotiations what McDavid wanted, it became apparent what he wants by leaving thousands and thousands on the proverbial table: to win.
After years of falling short within the Western Conference, McDavid and Edmonton made it to the Stanley Cup Final in 2024, after they stormed back from a 3-0 deficit within the series against the Florida Panthers to force Game 7. Unfortunately, the historic comeback couldn’t be accomplished, and Florida won the sport 2-1 and the series 4-3. Last 12 months, the Oilers again lost to the Panthers within the SCF; this time, Edmonton dropped the series in six games after dropping Game 2 at home in double extra time and losing again at Rogers Place in Game 5.
The back-to-back disappointments are obviously a motivating factor for McDavid, and he’s willing to forgo a pay raise — a minimum of for now — to permit the Oilers to make use of the surplus money to enhance the roster. But that actually puts the pressure on Jackson and Co. to take advantage of this window before McDavid becomes a free agent.
“I believe you’re at all times on the clock,” Jackson said. “That’s the best way it’s. That’s natural for that conclusion to be drawn. After I took the job two years ago, I said we now have to be a really competitive team, with a chance to compete for the Cup, to be certain that that we keep Connor and Leon (Draisaitl) and the core. So it’s no different.
“The number that Connor took for his cap hit — really, like, what were the choices over one or two years? He’s not taking $12.5 million for an prolonged time period. So it’s a choice he made within the short term in order that we now have three years at $12.5 million, and yeah, our goal is to proceed to be a very good team and be there at the tip. His deal doesn’t change that. I don’t feel like we’re on the clock any greater than we were on the clock two years ago, to be honest.”