By Michael Whitaker

Copyright clutchpoints

Edmonton Oilers team captain Connor McDavid has the chance to become arguably the most high-profile unrestricted free agent to hit the open market perhaps in NHL history next offseason if things remain as they are right now.

As it currently stands, McDavid is without a contract beyond the upcoming 2025-26 NHL season, which will be his 11th in the league since Edmonton selected him first overall in 2015. He and the Oilers have also twice reached the summit of the mountaintop by advancing to the Stanley Cup Final in consecutive seasons only to fall short against the Florida Panthers on both occasions.

With each passing day as the season approaches that McDavid, who became eligible to sign an extension this past July 1, doesn’t sign an extension, the level of anxiety amongst the Oilers fan base grows. That can almost also certainly be said about his teammates and club management.

As far as the latest update on the state of negotiations, McDavid himself said Thursday at the beginning of training camp that not much had changed.

“Not really much to report,” McDavid said via TSN about the situation. “Obviously, we think about it. We talk about it, gauge where we’re at, where we’re feeling. Nothing’s really changed as of now and just excited to be here at camp and get rolling. It’s always an exciting time for us and for the rest of the league, and we’re excited.”

This is a situation that will be on the forefront of the minds of Oilers fans until they complete the deal.

Oilers must re-sign Connor McDavid before NHL season begins

Signing McDavid to a new contract would work out for the Oilers in multiple ways, starting with the obvious – Having the best player in team history following Wayne Gretzky committed to wearing an Oilers uniform for multiple more years.

Upon the trade of Gretzky in 1988 to the Los Angeles Kings shortly after he’d led them to their fourth Stanley Cup win in five seasons, it was perhaps (and still ranks today) as one of the most stunning transactions in professional sports history. Not only did it send an outpouring of outrage all across Edmonton and Alberta as a whole but even saw New Democratic Party (NDP) House Leader Nelson Riis demand that the NHL void the deal because of Gretzky’s status as a Canadian cultural icon.

From a purely business standpoint, it would be potentially devastating to put fans of the franchise through that again.

However, putting aside the emotional aspect for the entire region, it would simply be a dereliction of duty on the part of Oilers management led by general manager Stan Bowman to allow a player of McDavid’s caliber to leave.

“I just go by what Connor said, and that’s that he wants nothing more than to win in Edmonton,” Bowman said via NHL.com Wednesday, the Oilers’ first day of training camp. “I take him at his word. He’s going through his own process, and you have to understand that and respect it, and I do. When he’s ready, he’ll be ready.”

Bowman is also well aware that McDavid’s contract status is the hot topic of conversation among Oilers fans going into the new season, perhaps even more so than their consecutive appearances in the Stanley Cup Final.

“I realize that’s on everyone’s mind, the media and the fans, and it’s on our minds too,” Bowman said. “It’s one of those things where we’ve had multiple conversations, and he’s been very consistent with what he’s been saying to the media as well as to myself, and we just kind of go from it from there…He’s been consistent in saying that, and I love hearing when he says that, that his singular focus [is] to win in Edmonton. For me, take it at face value, and I have no reason to question him.”

It’s true that the Oilers have a legitimate superstar playing alongside McDavid in his longtime teammate Leon Draisaitl. Additionally, forward Zach Hyman is only a season removed from tallying 54 goals during the 2023-24 campaign. Many believe that had he not suffered a season-ending injury against the Dallas Stars in the 2025 Western Conference Final, it would have been the Oilers turning the tables on the Panthers in the highly anticipated 2025 Stanley Cup Final rematch.

Still, the loss of McDavid would leave a gaping void in the Oilers’ lineup like no other that would be unfillable. Bowman and the Oilers can’t let it happen and have to do what it takes to ensure that McDavid spends at least the next few years of his NHL career in Edmonton.