The Edmonton Oilers know the time is now to win, given the contractual status of their captain, Connor McDavid. McDavid signed a two-year extension ahead of the 2025-26 season at an AAV of $12.5 million. He put it on the management, General Manager Stan Bowman, to improve the team in order to win a Stanley Cup.
However, it is clear the Oilers have gotten worse, not better. As previously mentioned on NHLRumors.com, and as a running theme since the start of the season, Edmonton is not as good as its 2025 Stanley Cup Final team, and is significantly worse than their 2024 Stanley Cup Final team, which lost in Game 7.
But even still, Connor McDavid remains committed to winning in Edmonton despite the noise surrounding him that he wants to leave. He made it clear on Saturday during his final media availability that he wants to win and win in Edmonton.
“I want to win, and I want to win here in Edmonton, that’s my focus,” McDavid said when asked about if he wants out if the Oilers don’t win a Stanley Cup in the next two seasons.
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However, this question and narrative have now surrounded him, dating back to the eight-year deal he signed that was set to expire at the end of this season. It seems the narrative is that getting the best players out of these markets so they can win elsewhere is a real thing, but McDavid made no bones about it: he wants to win the big trophy.
“I’m not going to get into all of that,” McDavid added when asked what the team needs to do in order to keep him beyond this contract. “The only thing that matters is competing for the big trophy. That’s all that matters. And if I feel that that’s here, then yeah.”
The last part is going to be open to interpretation, especially regarding whether he feels it is in Edmonton. And the narrative once again began about Connor McDavid leaving once the Oilers lost to the Anaheim Ducks in six games in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The NHL on TNT Panel debated this topic, and while Henrik Lundqvist agreed it was a tight window, and Paul Bissonette didn’t want to comment on the elephant in the room, analyst Anson Carter believes the Edmonton Oilers have this year to get things right with Connor McDavid still on the team before moving on from him.
“I’d probably give him a year this year, and then have to decide what they’re gonna do with Conor McDavid. I really do,” Carter said on TNT following Game 6 vs the Ducks. “I know he signed a two-year deal. He’s not gonna make it for the full two years if there isn’t a drastic improvement in this hockey team. I could see them moving Conor McDavid without a doubt.”
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But Carter is right about the window for the Oilers. Management and even the players, including Leon Draisaitl, who signed an eight-year extension to stay in Edmonton, know this is an important summer for the club, as every move matters to keep Connor McDavid long-term in Edmonton.
“A lot. I mean, in what world do you have the best player in the world on your team and you’re not looking to win?” Draisaitl told the media on Saturday when asked about what the Oilers do to shape the rest of McDavid’s time in Edmonton. “Like, I know we’re looking to win, but we need to be better. We have to be better. There’s no way around it. We have to improve. And he’s signed for two more years, and God knows where that goes, but we have two years here right now. As of right now, we have two years, and we have to get significantly better.”
McDavid and Leon Draisaitl called the team “average” and “not good enough following the loss in Game 6. GM Stan Bowman and head coach Kris Knoblauch agreed with those statements. Bowman understands McDavid wants to win. The organization as a whole wants to win as well, but it isn’t easy to be a contender every year.
However, it is clear this is a big offseason for the Edmonton Oilers or else even bigger changes and decisions could be coming next summer. Whether this narrative is being overblown or not is up for debate, but it isn’t going away.
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