You’re likely aware of several articles that have dropped about Connor McDavid over the last 24 hours. Nothing terribly new, but the possibility of this being his final year in Edmonton is coming into view. I said some time ago that if McDavid was going to free agency, his vague verbal would be an effective way to deflect the early concern.
Connor McDavid has attracted myriad fans to the sport, to the Oilers, to Edmonton. He has created a mountain of goodwill via his play and positive words about the team and city. He may have decided it’s time to go, and we (you and I) have to respect his decision, should it come to pass.
I’m reminded a little of the period where the Beatles broke up when I was a kid. People blamed all manner of things, instead of focusing on the truth: A bunch of teenagers formed a band, became wildly successful, and then became men with lives of their own, separate from the other members of the group. John, Paul, George and Ringo grew from youth to adulthood, their priroties changed and eventually the group was no more. McDavid has his first chance to play in another city starting next season. It may have appeal. You can’t blame a man for thinking about it long and hard.
Oilers owner Daryl Katz would know which way the wind is blowing by now, I would think. An individual who has been negotiating at the highest levels of business for decades would know that a deal involves money, desire from both sides to complete a deal, and a discussion about the framework of a contract.
The vagueness of McDavid’s verbal makes negotiation difficult, probably impossible. Things could change, the Oilers might have a hot start, but what does that mean for the playoffs? Nothing really.
The team has added talent, and that talent may be an upgrade on last year’s team. That would offer hope.
I think this is a point those interested in the McDavid situation need to be mindful of what is happening here. A generational talent has reached the point where he can ponder his future. He has earned that right. McDavid is not the teenager who was drafted in 2015, he is a man in the middle of an incredible hockey career.
His desire to win a Stanley Cup may be the driver here, and that should not be discounted. On the other hand this may be a case of a player wanting to go home, like Johnny Gaudreau. Or a player wanting to play in a massive market in an effort to grow the game and have the world enjoy his talent. In hockey terms, that’s eastern seaboard, 7pm local starts and a national television audience most of the time. It might be frustration over losing ground to the Panthers in the 2025 Final (a quicker exit) and maybe the Blues offer sheets were the genesis of discontent that will leads to an exodus.
My opinion? I think he’s tired of losing in the Stanley Cup Final and he’s not planning to do that again. I suspect Oilers fans would be wise to embrace what might be his final season with the team, and enjoy every moment. I also think that will be difficult, as difficult as the team itself shutting out the noise and answering the same question every night. I believe this year will be the most unusual in Oilers history. If we’re honest, it already is.
On the Lowdown today, our feature guest is Kevin McCurdy. We’ll talk Connor McDavid, Oilers training camp and a season to come that could be a Stanley season or a runaway train. Noon to 2pm on Sports 1440 and on You Tube.
Why Edmonton Oilers’ bet on Trent Frederic a key to 2025-26 season
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6633132/2025/09/17/edmonton-oilers-trent-frederic-stats-2025/
If the Oilers win Stanley this year, where McDavid goes won’t really matter.
One isn’t near enough.
One is sooo much more that none.
— it struck me that bowman is having conversations and knows that it’s up to Connor who is “asking a lot of questions”
— Then he says “yeah we are sticking with Stu, he’s in the best shape of his life,focused”
— maybe bowman doesn’t want to reveal his cards else it’s big balls (reckless IMO) to be pot committed to the same goalie
— If nothing is signed before season starts it’s going to be a gong show. I agree with LT verbatim.
A lot of consternation this morning over the Sportsnet article. I agree that I’d prefer some more positive verbal at this point, but McDavid hasn’t changed his tune since his exit interview in June. He will re-sign if he thinks the team will compete year after year.
I think any contract will come mid-season. The team has turned over the roster with multiple players who are new to the league or pro hockey, multiple key pieces are also up for renewals, and now we’ve turned over most of the coaching staff.
There are a lot of unknowns going forward. I’m sure he wants to have a firmer idea of how these changes will affect the team before committing.
Very hard to believe that McDavid doesn’t already know what the organization’s goals and plans are by now. I’m not sure how this season plays out (hot start, slow start, injuries) changes anything with regards to whether the organization is committed to continuing to be a credible Stanley Cup contender.
Disappointingly, I believe the writing is on the wall.
It’s hard not to view the McD situation pessimistically.
I for one will not blame McD if he leaves.
I blame management and ownership entirely for the situation.
I just hope McD is honest about the situation early in the year and if he plans to go is not restrictive about his NTC.
I will not blame him if he leaves unless he leaves for Toronto. From where I stand they have all the same problems we do, so if have a tough time not seeing that as an emotional choice on his part.
How about some 3D chess…
Sorry, I’ll return to reality.
Is everyone thinking the same thing but no one wants to say it? What is quite possibly going on here, the name that keeps coming up in almost every interview, a movie we’ve seen before. I’m telling myself to be hopeful that the pacing is about creating/evaluating local business opportunities behind the scenes, but I worry someone just wants/needs a bigger stage.
I really admire(d) Connor’s focus on just playing hockey. I suspected he was also instilling that culture in the team and around the league – Edm is a great town to focus and ply your trade, be a hockey player. There’s plenty of time to be celebs when you retire (which I’m convinced is what a lot of the big city boys struggle with). I hope that’s still his attitude.
Probably gonna get a time-out for this.
So if the worst comes to fruition do you trade for Mctavish and just give him 97 so the Mc stands and you have the 2 biggest bully centres in the league not named barkov?
If McDavid refuses to sign before the start of season, ask him to waive the no trade.
If he says no, use the media to make as much noise as possible and make the situation unbearable until he agrees.
The Oilers can not allow McDavid to walk for nothing, they must do what’s best for the team.
I’m in the belief McDavid resigns, but if not I don’t care about this playoff run with McDavid being included, that’s not best for the team.
Sell him and move on.
McDavid for Barzal and Sorokin? Joking…. kind of.
If McDavid won’t be resigning and has a NMC, ask him what teams he’d go to. Rip off the bandaid, get some players back and move on.
He’s clearly moving on, so the team needs to make the “best” out of this grim situation.
Draisaitl is an incredible player/leader, on and off the ice and deserves a Cup just as much as McDavid. Don’t go scorched earth, round out your team and use that $16 million McDavid wanted for numerous players (goalie, 2C, young scoring winger, another strong RD)
I dont think he’d waive. The cost to acquire mcdavid would likely gut a team from being able to compete, at least for that year.
It’s a catch 22 which means 97 would play out this year trying to win then join Toronto in the offseason.
But when you look at TOR’s roster, that’s not a roster built for long-term contention. Their entire D corps is on the verge of aging out with next to no heir apparent on the horizon. Would be a bonkers top-6, though.
If he’s staying in Canada, I gotta imagine it’s MTL or OTT. MTL in particular has built a VERY strong future and has just about everything else set up for Connor to step into and contend for the rest of his career. OTT isn’t quite as well set-up, but have most of the pieces to have them contending for a while. Those two aside, there are only a couple US teams that I think really make sense.
Montreal makes perfect sense.
He can join with Sid as his 3rd line C.
Allure of Toronto and breaking the curse as local boy was my angle. I would point to Tree signing huberdeau if he was thinking about management competence.
I’d point to many things that Treliving has done if he was factoring managerial competence into this decision 😛
I genuinely think MTL would be the best fit for him. A high-end, young D corps (Hutson, Dobson, Guhle, Reinbacher), a very good bet at a quality G in Fowler, and a group of established, young Fs with a varied skillset (high-end two-way 2C, diminutive sniper, huge power forward, elite puck skill W, etc). Still gets to be closer to home and have the chance to break Canada’s Cup Curse.
I’m actually not dreading the possible post-McDavid future as much as some here.
While Toronto didn’t get much from Vegas for Marner’s rights, I imagine EDM could get a reasonable piece from an interested team. If Marner brought back Nic Roy, maybe OTT would offer Pinto or MTL a talented prospect like Beck or Hage.
That aside, the amount of cap space the team would have alongside the continued presence of Draisaitl and Bouchard would help the team transition into the new era. Savoie and hopefully Howard would have every opportunity to emerge as vital pieces while the cap space could be put towards a high end UFA or two (Kempe and Gustavsson, for example). Hell, maybe that space could be used to exploit another team’s cap crunch.
It won’t be the same as having McDavid but, if that’s how the chips fall, there’s still plenty of ways to keep the team competitive! Maybe they could even rediscover some of that old scrappy underdog identity, too 🙂
Honestly I can see the Edmonton fans turning on McDavid real fast if he and the team don’t get out to a strong start, and he continues to be noncommittal to staying beyond this year.
Everyone saw what happened with Marner last season.
Everyone knows that the pain of losing Gretzky still runs deep.
It’ll be an absolute circus.
Agreed, the fanbase could turn to the ugly side for sure. The other side of that is he could use that as an excuse a la Marner where he cited the extreme portion of Leafs nation as one of the reasons he chose to sign elsewhere. A real catch 22. He comes out as the victim and it creates a reason for other free agents not to sign/add Edmonton to cities they don’t want to be traded too. This whole scenario is putting the team/city in a no win situation. IMO
On a brighter note, our friend Kenny Holland has done a tidy bit of business this summer for the Kings.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6496153/2025/07/16/nhl-most-improved-2025/
I’m operating as though McDavid is signing here.
If they know or highly suspect that he isn’t, trade him and do it now.
Now with the Oilers history, I could seem them being dumb enough to play games on this…but let’s hope the owner’s kids know better than that.
Not sure how many times this has been mentioned in this blog post alone … McDavid has a full NMC, and he’s not going to waive it.
And, as is usually mentioned in response:
1 – You don’t know he wouldn’t waive and 2 – There are lots of ways to convince him.
Please be more specific … what are these “ways” you would use to convince him to waive his NMC.
Oh no… I missed McDavid’s comments yesterday, but if this is where we are, I have really enjoyed McDavid’s time with the Oilers, and hope it continues. I certainly hope Drai doesn’t follow him out the door.
Like others, I think the Oilers would be a much stronger team today with Broberg and Holloway in the fold.
Like others, if the Oilers had gotten Rantanen earlier this year, I think they could have won the cup… boy he was dynamite in the playoffs this year!
And finally, I don’t know if others feel the same way I do, but the Oilers locking up Trent Frederic for 8 seasons after a very ho-hum playoffs seems disappointing to me. All other variables held constant, if the Oilers had Marchand and the Panthers had Frederic, I think the Oilers would have won the cup in the summer.
Thanks Lowetide for your reasonable reporting of what seems to be a potential big disappointment sometime in the next 10 months.
If 97 had got any points in the last few finals games 2 years running we’d talk about his legacy. He wants to win but didn’t do anything when the chips were down.
We’ve had most of his prime. He’s still the best player and we’d be significantly worse off but him moving on isn’t just an organizational failure.
Allowing Colin Campbell’s son to get Brad Marchand because a defenceman on their team got PED’s, then allowed him to sign a 6 year deal after telling Toronto not to pull a deal till someones like 45 is the real smoking gun here.
This ^^. McDavid is just as much to blame for underperforming when it mattered most. Along with the thumb on the scale for Florida.
If McDavid doesn’t sign, then Jeff Jackson can also follow him out the door … what a mess that guy made in just a couple of months without a competent GM in place. His only purpose on the Oilers management team is to ensure that McDavid signs his next contract with the Oilers.
Doing laundry today I came across my 29 sweater hanging in my closet and it reminded me how how Gretzky never won a Cup after leaving Edmonton but Edmonton did.
Exactly – it took those Kings teams several years to figure what it takes to win playoff hockey. By that point, their top players started getting long in the tooth, and it was one and done for Finals appearances.
If McDavid leaves Edmonton then the same will happen with his next team, and he’ll probably end up being the Dan Marino of hockey.
Well, we’re definitely on the clock. Two weeks, that’s it. If McDavid doesn’t sign a contract by opening night, the odds based upon historical players in the same situation is against us. Right now. It doesn’t look good. It looks like a Tavares type of situation.
Walman says he’s very appreciative of the opportunity the Oilers game him. Very happy to play in a Canadian market. Very comfortable here. He loves it here, his wife loves it hear and the hockey is great. Will leave it at that.
He’s all for playing the right side and think he has chemistry with Nurse.
I don’t even know where to start with this McDavid stuff. Right now nothing is adding up as in that interview today, on one hand he is saying the signing will happen when it feels right but he also seems very calculated with his wording and is setting the stage to leave next year. He wants to win the cup in Edmonton but he is pretty naive to think this won’t be a huge distraction, I mean fans in Calgary are already chanting “McDavid’s leaving” in a rookie game. It almost seems like an impossible proposition to win the cup with this hanging over the organizations head. Like does he expect Bowman to trade first round picks at the deadline if he thinks there is chance McDavid is leaving? Now it just seems the most likely scenario is a 2nd round exit, coming up short again and McDavid walking to free agency.
What does that chant in evey road barn, a full 50% of the games played, do to Leon?
A second round exit is one thing we could need Skinny Skinner to stand on his head just to make the playoffs this year.
Agreed, McDavid entering the season without a contract would not only set the stage for him riding out his contract and walking to free agency, but it would be a huge distraction for the team—not to mention no return on the asset would be brutal. Stamkos was the only similar situation where he ultimately signed with the team.
Coach more of an open book that the GM and is hopeful Hyman can play shortly after the season starts…..
Coach on the PK: Will be lots of personnel changes to the PK – will be testing out alot in camp but also structural changes – they were an outlier last year in how they killed, one of about 3 teams that killed the way they did – they will pivot to doing what most of the league.
Coach says they will give Frederic lots of center in camp.
Coach when asked about right wingers if Hyman is out – mentioned lots of possibilities but also wants a hard to play against checking 3rd line.
Coach on Philp – he can skate and move and make our team faster. he has size and can make our team bigger. There are other attributes he can bring but him playing fast and physical would help our group. Compared to what Kap brought when he was added in to the Vegas series – Philp can do that.
I’m among those who’ve avoided making comment before now.
It doesn’t look or sound good for ‘ol OurTown. Nothing I’ve seen or heard tells me McDavid is staying.
Personally, I trade a year of McD for whatever I can get. If McD can agree to a sign and trade, even short term, even better.
Those looking at other contenders are correct that few are prospect rich, but some simply have younger or deeper cores. Below the top five are teams that are close, or on the up, and adding McD is one helluva push. Some see fits w NJ, CAR.
TO even. sorta. if you squint and vomit.
I agree with our resident blogger that McDavid wants to win. I would speculate that McD is looking at teams that can get him there the next three years, four max, and that the last two finals have left a taste, pushing the drive to try something different. At the same time, the Oil *are* a good team, McDavid holds all the cards, so he can have his cake and eat it – compete this year, reassess.
It really is Stanley or bust.
Had they managed it even once with McDavid as captain, I don’t believe we’re having this conversation. Now I’m uncertain even a 2026 championship ensures he stays.
The biggest obstacle to winning a cup right now and the foreseeable future is the Florida Panthers, and I mean if that is all he wants does it make sense to move into the same conference as them or even division? Right now the west is wide open and will be for at least few more years
Who knows. Maybe McD imagines a fit with a new team that meets FLA head on and figures them out without having to first win a conference and push every last chip onto the table 🤷🏻♂️
Coach, when asked about Savoie/Howard and playing them with good player in camp:
Finding out how ready they are for the NHL. They are used to playing with other top players but, if they do that, they are also playing against top players. We need to find out of if they are ready for the NHL. Training camp is about earning a spot…. Not going to set positions in the lineup for them at this point.
When asked if they need to be in the top 6 to play, coach said no – the goal is for them to be top 6 in time but its not beneficial to put them in a position they are not ready for. Its important that they are in a good spot. Want to build them up. Hopefully down the road, when they are ready, they get in to a prominent role.
Doesn’t sound like either will be starting up the lineup….. sigh.
Those verbals are a really bad sign. It’s pretty clear to me he’s ready to move on.
Contrary to what others are saying below, I think you need to reset the team after he leaves. Move every good player (including Drai) and stock up draft pick and young players.
The team is struggling to win a cup with McDavid, no shot they get it done without him.
Coach asked about Walman and talked about how happy he is with the group as a whole.
Spoke about wanting to keep Jake on one side and that will be the right side. Likely to play with Nurse.
Heaped praises for a minute on Jake.
Coach says the group is a veteran group, have gone through alot – shouldn’t have any issue with Connor not being signed – shouldn’t be a distraction. They are very focused on the season.
Shouldn’t, but it will be . . . I can’t see a way that it won’t be a HUGE distraction.
I do wonder if we would be having this discussion if the Oilers were able to somehow acquire Rantanen at the deadline last year. Apparently (no source) we were in on him, just couldn’t put the pieces together. Although fitting $12M in with our roster would have been nearly impossible.
Bowman:
Regula is feeling great right now (injury recovery wise).
Need to get him back playing, need to watch him grow – we’re optimistic, when you look at his skill set, once we get him back up and running, we think he’ll be a useful player for us.
I think he is as good as gone, and not in a team-first way. If he pulls the Marner route, I’d say that is pretty selfish. It would be better for the team to arrange a trade now. If he won’t sign, time to take away the C.
Bowman:
Not looking at those Carter Hart.
Like where we are at with Stu and his off-season training and are going to go in to the season with that.
Bowman:
Open to Tomasek being a winger for one of the top two centers.
Pretty likely they open the season with Nurse/Walman as a pairing. Jake indicated he loves to play left or right but prefers to stay and not get moved around. The way Jake moves around and with his one-timer, its nice to have him on the right side as a threat. Good chance he and Nurse will be together.
I agree that McDavid has earned the right to make his decision, but this doesn’t mean that we as fans have to like the process he is using, the verbal, and media coverage of the situation.
Starting to feel like McDavid might “Marner” us. A terrible result if it comes to pass.
The narrative that he is concerned about the long term ability of the Oilers to contend doesn’t hold water to me. Edmonton has better prospect pools than many of the NHL’s contenders. Dallas, Toronto, Colorado, Tampa, Vegas, Florida all rank worse yet contend consistently because there are other better ways to build a modern team than draft and develop. Is he really going to head to Carolina?
https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/ranking-every-nhl-teams-2025-26-prospect-pool-from-1-32
McDavid being sick of losing in the finals also doesn’t jive as a reason to jump ship. 30 other teams would trade places with the Oilers in a heartbeat. And If McDavid plays better in the finals we likely have at least one if not two Stanley Cups right now. I’m not blaming him, but he needs to own some of the results here.
Hard to imagine that an agreement couldn’t be hammered out in a few days if not hours if McDavid was committed to staying longer term. NMC makes moving him challenging, but options need to be explored in my opinion.
Totally agree with this. Where precisely does he feel he can go that has a “younger” more skilled team likely to win multiple cups over his remaining years? Maybe this is all smoke for him to be able to go home to Toronto. They are hardly a stacked young talent team. Anywhere else is no more than a crapshoot as to who is going to “emerge” and be a “dynasty”. Montreal, Carolina, Islanders, Chicago? You could name 31 teams really, who knows. As much as he is a fantastic talent, it is pretty clear that he sees no further future in Edmonton. Looks like time to move on, collect some assets , draft picks and build around Draisaitl.
As LT says, we don’t know what we don’t know, but were the worst come to pass, I’d be hoping SBGM has Kent Hughes on speed dial.
Or Chris MacFarland.
While you may be right about McDavid perhaps not being amenable to going to Carolina, the Hurricanes could be a shining example of the factors he is employing to assess his future.
Carolina is perhaps the best run organization the league which bodes well for long term competitiveness.
At present, with a full 23 man roster, they enter the season with $10.6 million in free cap space which projects to be $48.6 million at the deadline. ($16 million next season with zero impact players to re-sign)
They have zero bad contracts, no retained salary or buyouts affecting the cap.
They have all their core players locked up for multiple seasons with Sebastian Aho their most expensive at $9.75 million.
While they do have some older vets like Taylor Hall, Jordan Staal and William Carrier they are all on shorter term, reasonable contracts.
Sprinkled into that lineup are several 25 and under players who are already established including Andrei Svechnikov, Seth Jarvis, Logan Stankhoven, Jackson Blake, K’Andre Miller and Alexander Nikishkin.
On top of that, their remaining prospect pools ranked in the top half of the league.
I expect they will soon address their goaltending (Carter Hart?)
This franchise cannot afford to have Mcdavid walk without getting anything in return
K (and his franchise) cannot take the reputational hit trading McDavid this season.
The best K can do is a sign and trade next June of McDavid to the McDavid’s chosen destination.
This season is truly Stanley Cup or bust.
If McDavid walks after this season, the Oilers gain $12.5 million in cap space, a considerable asset. It won’t replace the player, but it’s a start.
Bowman:
Lots of preliminary talks with guys going in to their last year.
Do not need to wait for McDavid to sign to wrap those up.
Don’t know if they’ll wrap all those up in the next few weeks, or in-season or if we’ll wait.
Positive discussions on many.
Probably best to sign who you can now.
Cole Bagley
@BagleyKSLsports
BREAKING: Connor Ingram will NOT attend training camp as he and the team work to find him a new home.
Armstrong says they plan to eventually place him on waivers.
——————–
He’s a career .902, coming off an .882 in 22 games with Utah last year.
Worth a look? I am seriously asking as I really have no sense of his value.
His vagueness is not super encouraging. As much as I don’t like typing this, I believe that he has to consider waiving his NMC and they have to consider trading him if he wants to go the route of free agency. He has earned that right, no question. However we cannot lose him for nothing. I was 17 when Gretzky was sold, it was gut wrenching. I cannot believe that we are here again. Trading his rights in the lead up to July 1 will still fetch some assets a la Marner but GMs will understand that they only need to wait a few weeks until it’s just money and don’t need to decimate their team to acquire him. Leon is still a formidable force to build a team around via that kind of trade. Just like Messier captained the team to a Stanley Cup post Gretzky. Hell the vapours of the 80s dynasty still made it to the Conference Finals another two times post 1990.
Bowman has no update on Hyman.
Medicals are today.
Doing well on his rehab but no timeline yet.
Follow up – not expected to be out long if he is out at all.
I had previously expressed my opinion that I would be annoyed if the re-sign wasn’t done by the opening of camp (always thought it would get done post-labor day and pre camp) and I am.
In my opinion, Connor is kidding himself if he truly believes his own words regarding it not being a distraction. It will be a circus at the media avail today and that won’t stop. If he’s not signed by the season, every 2 game losing streak will be a mayhem in Oil country catastrophizing (shit, ever 2-0 deficit in a game often is).
After his interview yesterday where he clearly expressed no commitment beyond this season, for the first time, I am truly open to the possibility that he doesn’t re-sign. Four or five times he used the phrase “for the 2025/26”. He is fully committed to this team and winning this season – that’s it.
I still think the chances are very high that he re-signs, like in the 85% range but I no longer feel its near a lock.
I don’t understand his apparent concerns with the team not being a contender after this season but that’s just me.
In any event, I am going to focus on this season, not his contract status, and the FACT that McDavid is not happy with his season last year and wants to show the hockey world that “50-60 goals was not a one-off” – if healthy, I think he is going to have his best season ever and THAT gives this team an even better chance of winning the cup.
To LT’s point, you really wonder how big of a deal these STL offer-sheets have become. Concern around aging core & Holloway’s season he just had at 23. Will Savoie having a strong rookie season be enough? Have my doubts about Howard this season.
I mean… Or ,maybe as LT says, he just wants to live somewhere else. Maybe as a teen he always dreamed of living in the big Apple or LA or something? As a season ticket holder and DieHard fan, I obviously want him to stay but I completely agree with LT that we owe him the rationality of the fact that he fairly negotiated his last contract. He fairly negotiated to have a no trade clause and so we cheer like hell for the team, hope for the best and stay sane and respectful because he actually doesn’t owe us anything other than his honest best effort this year.
Well said LT. It took me years-decades!-to accept that the Gretzky to LA sale was better for the game, better for the league, and probably better for the player himself; Gretzky commented that he couldn’t go to a restaurant in Edmonton without being mobbed.
It might be similar for McDavid, in which case we should follow your lead and respect his choice. I’ll cheer for this team no matter where I live or who is wearing the sweater.
It wasn’t actually better for the game, or the league, or the player long term.
It may have been slightly better for the overall business, but a Canadiens-level run of cups and the greatest player ever retiring with over 1000 goals, over 3000 points (likely close to 4000), and 8 or 9 Cups is better for the game by miles.
No chasing BS expansion (some expansion but not as much as not to where people don’t give a damn). Higher quality product. More players with a “Wayne did it right” by staying with his squad attitude.
People have tried to justify it a million ways…but it was what it was…an unskilled businessman making an incredibly stupid business decision involving his best asset.