McDavid signs 2-year, $25 million contract with Oilers

Connor McDavid signed a two-year, $25 million contract with the Edmonton Oilers on Monday. It has an average annual value of $12.5 million and begins with the 2026-27 season.

The 28-year-old center is entering the last of an eight-year, $100 million contract ($12.5 million AAV) he signed July 5, 2017. He led the Oilers to their second straight appearance in the Stanley Cup Final last season, where they again lost to the Florida Panthers. He tied teammate Leon Draisaitl for the NHL scoring lead in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 33 points (seven goals, 26 assists) in 22 games.

“Our journey here continues,” McDavid said on X before the deal was announced.

"I obviously said I was committed to winning here and I meant that when I said that and two years makes a lot of sense," McDavid said Tuesday. "It gives us a chance to continue chasing down what we’ve been chasing down here with the core guys we have in here and we have a little bit of money to work with too. I think the deal makes sense to both sides.

"It gives us a chance to extend our window here in Edmonton. [My dog] Lenny is not going to go hungry with that money, so we'll be fine. It's about winning and that's always what I preached and I think this deal gives both sides what we're looking for."

Draisaitl is set to play the first season of an eight-year, $112 million contract ($14 million AAV) he signed Sept. 3, 2024.

“[The $12.5 million] was what Connor wanted; it’s not like we made a pitch that he should sign for that amount,” Oilers general manager Stan 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.

"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. I think that’s a testament of who he is as a person.”

McDavid had been eligible to sign a new contract since July 1, but on Aug. 27 he reiterated that he wouldn’t rush things and his No. 1 goal was to win.

"I think not wanting to be a distraction plays a factor," McDavid said. "It's a lot for guys to have to come in here and answer questions for other guys, the coach to get asked about it, the GM to gets asked about it every day. It's nice to get it out of the way, nobody has to talk about it anymore. That obviously plays a factor and then obviously myself not wanting to answer the question and giving the Oilers some clarity on what's going to go down.

"I said everything was on the table and I meant it then too. Of course, everything was on the table. That's the point of being in that situation. You have your options but ultimately, our hearts are here in Edmonton. Our hearts are here with the core guys, with the guys in this room."

This season will be McDavid's 11th with Edmonton since it chose him with the No. 1 pick at the 2015 NHL Draft. He has 1,082 points (361 goals, 721 assists) in 712 regular-season games and 150 points (44 goals, 106 assists) in 96 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

"We had lots of talks as Stan pointed out," McDavid said. "We talked about a number of different things and we kept an open communication and I think that's important. Was there any commitments that I was looking for? No, but just having those open conversations together was important."

McDavid has won the Hart Trophy as the League's most valuable player three times (2017, 2020-21, 2022-23), the Ted Lindsay Award as most outstanding player as voted on by the NHLPA four times (2016-17, 2017-18, 2020-21, 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 the Cup Final to Florida in seven games.

“It’s not like we’re planning out five years from now that we’re a team that might be able to win the Cup,” Bowman said. “Our focus last year was to win; our focus this year was to win so this doesn’t change anything. My conversations with Connor is that he’s curious, he wants to know what’s coming and what the thoughts are and how I see the team and how we can get better. It’s all good discussions and good dialogue back and forth. He’s a very smart guy in addition to being an amazing player. He’s got a lot of good ideas and that’s why it’s fun to talk hockey with him.”

The Oilers got another significant deal done Monday, signing defenseman Jake Walman to a seven-year, $49 million contract ($7 million AAV). That contract also begins next season.

"It gives the core guys that have been here a really long time and guys in this room that have come here to be a part of something special," McDavid said. "There’s no secret that with a team that pushes for it every year like we have for the last number of years, four or five years, we’ve given up first-round picks and prospects and all that stuff, that we don’t have a ton of young guys. Two years gives us a chance to play this out. It gives us every opportunity to build something here."

NHL.com staff writer Derek Van Diest contributed to this report