McDavid puts Oilers on notice with 2-year, $25 million contract

EDMONTON -- Connor McDavid put to rest any questions regarding his commitment to winning the Stanley Cup with the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.

The 28-year-old center also put the Oilers on notice in the process.

McDavid signed a two-year, $25 million contract with Edmonton, a deal that will begin in 2026-2027 and carries the same average annual value ($12.5 million) as his current contract (eight years, $100 million), which he signed on July 5, 2017. It's a number that is well below market value for someone of his stature, but it gives Edmonton the flexibility to build a championship team around him.

At the same time, though, by making McDavid eligible to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2027-28 season, it sets a firm deadline for the Oilers to win their first championship since 1990.

“Nothing changes. That’s the way this has been since I started here,” said Stan Bowman, who was hired as Oilers general manager on July 24, 2024. “We all have the same belief, which is the reason I came here, because I believe we can win. I want to win and that’s what motivates me to do this, and I know that’s what motivates Connor. Nothing changes, and I think it’s continue on with our approach.

“We’re here pushing ourselves every day to find ways to make our team better, and nothing will change in that regard. It’s full steam ahead and it’s an exciting time to be with the organization.”

Edmonton is entering this season fresh off back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Final, where it lost to the Florida Panthers on both occasions.

Bowman believes the Oilers still have a championship-caliber team, and signing McDavid to a new contract extends that Stanley Cup window for another three seasons.

“I think it’s a great situation to be in,” he said. “I like our group for this year, and getting off to a good start is important. We’re looking at that right now, and as we get into the season more and you start looking at the (trade) deadline and the offseason, then we certainly have more options than we would otherwise, and that’s fantastic.”

Of course, those options are available because of McDavid's willingness to take a lower average annual value, something Bowman immediately made use of by also signing defenseman Jake Walman to a seven-year, $49 million contract ($7 million AAV) on Monday.

“Without question, when you have more money to spend, it gives you a lot more options than you otherwise would,” Bowman said. “So, absolutely it’s a great situation to be in, and we can’t wait to keep going here and trying to make our team better.”

Widely considered to be the best player in the NHL over the past decade, McDavid was in a unique situation where he could dictate the terms of his next contract.

Since being selected by Edmonton with the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, McDavid leads the League with 1,082 points (361 goals, 721 assists) in 712 regular-season games, 135 more than teammate Leon Draisaitl, who has played in 753 games. McDavid has won the Hart Trophy as the League’s most valuable player three times (2016-17, 2020-21, 2022-23), the Ted Lindsay Award as the most outstanding player in the NHL as voted by members of the NHL Players' Association four times (2016-17, 2017-18, 2020-21, 2022-23), the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the League's leading goal-scorer once (2022-23), and the Art Ross Trophy as leading scorer five times (2016-17, 2017-18, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23). He also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs in 2024 despite Edmonton losing to Florida in the Cup Final in seven games.

As a result, once he was eligible to sign a new contract with the Oilers on July 1, McDavid was essentially handed a blank sheet of paper to request his salary and term.

He chose winning instead of a raise.

“This is unique. I would say there’s nothing else like this negotiation, if you want to call it that,” Bowman said. “It was really more of a dialogue and a conversation throughout the last few months and really nothing to do with the contract itself.

“Usually when you have a negotiation, it’s more about a back-and-forth of the term, but that was never talked about. It was really more the other parts of where we’re headed, the vision for the team and how we’re going to improve, all those types of discussions.”

Bowman confirmed that it was McDavid who came up with the $12.5 million AAV for his new contract, which won’t even make him the highest paid player on the Oilers, let alone the League.

Draisaitl is entering the first season of an eight-year, $112 million contract ($14 million AAV) he signed with Edmonton on Sept. 3, 2024. Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild signed an eight-year, $136 million contract ($17 million AAV) last Tuesday that will begin next season, like McDavid's.

“That was what Connor wanted. It’s not like we made a pitch that he should sign for that amount,” Bowman said. “We never had those conversations at all, and I think when we came down to it, we were excited to get ourselves down to where we are today. Obviously, it’s a very exciting day for our organization, our fans and our team.”

Bowman recognizes Edmonton has a special talent in McDavid and hopes the Oilers can finally put it all together within the next three seasons.

“Getting to know Connor how I have for the last year, he’s such a one-of-a-kind guy, such a tremendous leader and so motivated to try and win,” Bowman said. “I think that’s a testament of who he is as a person."