McDavid, 28, is entering the last season of an eight-year, $100 million contract ($12.5 million average annual value) he signed with the Oilers on July 5, 2017. The three-time winner of the Hart Trophy as the League's most valuable player can become an unrestricted free agent July 1, 2026.
Olczyk said on the podcast that he thinks if the Oilers captain signs a new contract this season, it will be a short-term deal, likely two years.
"As a hockey guy and a hockey fan I think it'll be really interesting theater to see him just play it out," Olczyk said.
Olczyk also offered his opinion on Kirill Kaprizov's eight-year, $136 million contract ($17 million AAV) the forward signed with the Minnesota Wild.
He said he believes it will begin a "leapfrog game" of contracts for the top players in the League who are nearing the end of their current deals, including McDavid and Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, whose six-year, $54 million contract ($9 million AAV) expires at the end of the 2026-27 season.
"The market has certainly been reset now and we'll see what ends up happening with some of these premier players moving forward," Olczyk said.
Olczyk covered other topics during his interview on the "NHL @TheRink" podcast, including how the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers will handle not having center Aleksander Barkov (knee surgery) for the entire season and forward Matthew Tkachuk (torn adductor muscle surgery) for at least the first half.
The Panthers open the regular season against the Chicago Blackhawks at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday (5 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN1, TVAS).
"They just want to stay above water," Olczyk said. "They want to be, obviously, in the playoffs, but winning the division, or finishing second or third, just get in. I would assume that that would be the mindset. They're going to be a very good team even without their two top players up front."
For more from Olczyk, plus predictions and opinions from the co-hosts, listen to the "NHL @TheRink" podcast, which is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It also is available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.
