Cup contention key to McDavid’s future with Oilers: ‘It’s all about winning’
There are lots of good teams out there. But is there one that is more ready to get over the hump?
admin
EDMONTON — It is pure oxygen for the trolls, the mere thought that Connor McDavid may choose to sign his next contract with a team other than the Edmonton Oilers.
In that smarmy corner of the internet, McDavid’s relocation has become the logical response to Edmonton’s goaltending situation, every Evan Bouchard giveaway, an obvious reaction to the Oilers’ abject failure of playing in two straight Stanley Cups without winning one, and of course, the endgame to Ken Holland’s move to GM of the Los Angeles Kings.
Somewhere out there, a picture of McDavid in Leafs jammies will emerge. It’s only a matter of time, right?
But then there’s the ‘W’ word around which his decision is entirely shaped. And, no, that’s not Washington or Winnipeg.
“I get up here every year,” McDavid said at his last media availability of the season in Edmonton on Thursday, “and tell you that it’s all about winning. It’s only about winning, and we won’t be satisfied until that’s done.
“We’ve found a winning formula here,” he said. “Didn’t find a way to get two more wins, obviously, and that’s the end goal.”
/* if ( "1" == true && 'undefined' !== typeof window.getIndexAds ) { var so = {preroll:{1:{1:{siteID:191888},2:{siteID:191889}}}}; adServerUrl = window.getIndexAds( 'http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6374584570112&cmsid=384', so, permalink); } else { adServerUrl = "http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6374584570112&cmsid=384"; } */ adServerUrl = "http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6374584570112&cmsid=384"; /* var adServerUrl_result = adServerUrl.includes("cust_params"); var queryString=''; if(adServerUrl_result){ var gettheDUFI = false; if (localStorage.getItem("consent") !== null && localStorage.getItem("consent-targeting") !== null) gettheDUFI = localStorage.getItem("theRED_loc");
if(gettheDUFI){ queryString += "dufiid=" + gettheDUFI + '&'; queryString += "ppid=" + gettheDUFI + '&'; var ppid = "ppid=" + gettheDUFI + '&'; }
var DUFI_IP = false; if (localStorage.getItem("consent") !== null && localStorage.getItem("consent-targeting") !== null) DUFI_IP = sessionStorage.getItem("DUFI_IP");
if(DUFI_IP){ queryString += "dufiip=" + DUFI_IP + '&'; }
adServerUrl = adServerUrl.replace(/cust_params=/, ppid + 'cust_params=' + encodeURIComponent(queryString) ); } */
$el.after( unescape("%3Cscript src=\"" + (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js\" %3E%3C/script%3E") );
$( document ).one( 'ready', function() { $( "#video_container-775064" ).SNPlayer( { bc_account_id: "1704050871", bc_player_id: "JCdte3tMv", //autoplay: true, //is_has_autoplay_switch: false, bc_videos: 6374584570112, is_has_continuous_play: "false", adserverurl: adServerUrl, section: "", thumbnail: "https://www.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/6374584570112-1024x576.jpg", direct_url: "https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/video/mcdavid-addresses-the-media-after-another-disappointing-cup-final-finish/" }); });
Asked about his contract situation — McDavid has one year remaining on his current deal but can sign a new deal starting July 1 — he recited that perfunctory tract from the NHLPA playbook:
“I’ll take some time to regroup (after the Cup), talk to my agent (Judd Moldaver) a little bit, and family. Make some decisions — whenever that time comes. But there’s no rush. No rush on anything,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll get into it over the course of the next couple of weeks.
“I know people are going to look at that July 1 day and be looking to see if there’s anything done. But for me, I’m just not in a rush that way.”
When asked about his criteria for where he might re-sign, however, the lifelong Oiler had a hard time throwing anyone off the scent.
If he and agent Moldaver were not already 1,000 per cent in control of this negotiation, you might even say McDavid let his guard down.
“Winning would be at the top of the list. And then, you know, winning, uh, would be… It’s the most important thing,” he said. “If I feel that there’s a good window to win here — over and over again — then signing is no problem.”
/* if ( "1" == true && 'undefined' !== typeof window.getIndexAds ) { var so = {preroll:{1:{1:{siteID:191888},2:{siteID:191889}}}}; adServerUrl = window.getIndexAds( 'http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6374584436112&cmsid=384', so, permalink); } else { adServerUrl = "http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6374584436112&cmsid=384"; } */ adServerUrl = "http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6374584436112&cmsid=384"; /* var adServerUrl_result = adServerUrl.includes("cust_params"); var queryString=''; if(adServerUrl_result){ var gettheDUFI = false; if (localStorage.getItem("consent") !== null && localStorage.getItem("consent-targeting") !== null) gettheDUFI = localStorage.getItem("theRED_loc");
if(gettheDUFI){ queryString += "dufiid=" + gettheDUFI + '&'; queryString += "ppid=" + gettheDUFI + '&'; var ppid = "ppid=" + gettheDUFI + '&'; }
var DUFI_IP = false; if (localStorage.getItem("consent") !== null && localStorage.getItem("consent-targeting") !== null) DUFI_IP = sessionStorage.getItem("DUFI_IP");
if(DUFI_IP){ queryString += "dufiip=" + DUFI_IP + '&'; }
adServerUrl = adServerUrl.replace(/cust_params=/, ppid + 'cust_params=' + encodeURIComponent(queryString) ); } */
$el.after( unescape("%3Cscript src=\"" + (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js\" %3E%3C/script%3E") );
$( document ).one( 'ready', function() { $( "#video_container-121833" ).SNPlayer( { bc_account_id: "1704050871", bc_player_id: "JCdte3tMv", //autoplay: true, //is_has_autoplay_switch: false, bc_videos: 6374584436112, is_has_continuous_play: "false", adserverurl: adServerUrl, section: "", thumbnail: "https://www.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/6374584436112-1024x576.jpg", direct_url: "https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/video/mcdavid-feels-unfinished-business-with-oilers-with-free-agency-looming/" }); });
So, let’s sink our teeth into that.
If the question boils down to which National Hockey League organization gives McDavid the best chance to win a Cup or Cups over the next few years, we would ask if there is a team that you’d place on that list above Edmonton?
Is there a place that could both stomach what will be the highest AAV in the NHL and still have enough roster left to be as valid a Cup contender as is Edmonton, a team that waltzed through Rounds 2 and 3 before running into the buzzsaw that was Florida?
We’re not saying it’s a one-team list. There are lots of Cup contenders.
But is there a team out there that is clearly ahead of an Oilers team that has played in 13 playoff series over the past four seasons?
“This core has been together for a long time, and we’ve been building to this moment,” McDavid said. “The work that’s gone on behind the scenes. The conversations. The endless disappointments — and some good times along the way.
“We’re all in this together, trying to get it over that finish line. That being said, ultimately, I still need to do what’s best for me and my family, to have to take care of that first. But of course, there’s unfinished business here.”
/* if ( "1" == true && 'undefined' !== typeof window.getIndexAds ) { var so = {preroll:{1:{1:{siteID:191888},2:{siteID:191889}}}}; adServerUrl = window.getIndexAds( 'http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6374584536112&cmsid=384', so, permalink); } else { adServerUrl = "http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6374584536112&cmsid=384"; } */ adServerUrl = "http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6374584536112&cmsid=384"; /* var adServerUrl_result = adServerUrl.includes("cust_params"); var queryString=''; if(adServerUrl_result){ var gettheDUFI = false; if (localStorage.getItem("consent") !== null && localStorage.getItem("consent-targeting") !== null) gettheDUFI = localStorage.getItem("theRED_loc");
if(gettheDUFI){ queryString += "dufiid=" + gettheDUFI + '&'; queryString += "ppid=" + gettheDUFI + '&'; var ppid = "ppid=" + gettheDUFI + '&'; }
var DUFI_IP = false; if (localStorage.getItem("consent") !== null && localStorage.getItem("consent-targeting") !== null) DUFI_IP = sessionStorage.getItem("DUFI_IP");
if(DUFI_IP){ queryString += "dufiip=" + DUFI_IP + '&'; }
adServerUrl = adServerUrl.replace(/cust_params=/, ppid + 'cust_params=' + encodeURIComponent(queryString) ); } */
$el.after( unescape("%3Cscript src=\"" + (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js\" %3E%3C/script%3E") );
$( document ).one( 'ready', function() { $( "#video_container-943411" ).SNPlayer( { bc_account_id: "1704050871", bc_player_id: "JCdte3tMv", //autoplay: true, //is_has_autoplay_switch: false, bc_videos: 6374584536112, is_has_continuous_play: "false", adserverurl: adServerUrl, section: "", thumbnail: "https://www.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/6374584536112-1024x576.jpg", direct_url: "https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/video/keep-believing-mcdavid-on-message-to-oilers-fanbase/" }); });
Is the core getting too old? Or perhaps just some of the support players — the Mattias Janmarks, Adam Henriques, Corey Perrys and Viktor Arvidssons — all of whom can be replaced over time?
“Our core is not old. Our core is probably in the prime right now in terms of maturity and experiences and all those things,” said Leon Draisaitl. “Do we need to get a little bit younger? Maybe. A little bit faster? Maybe.
“But I think our core group is at an age where we’ve got a lot of juice left.”
The Oilers have now lost to the Stanley Cup-winning team in four consecutive seasons. They’ve lost the last two Finals, in seven and six games respectively.
There are lots of good teams out there. But is there one that is more ready to get over the hump?
“We don’t need to look very far at what it takes to win, or what it feels like to play against the winning team,” McDavid said. “The hockey at the 4 Nations was the best hockey I’ve ever been a part of at that level, and a close second would be that Florida team that we just played.
“There are levels to everything, and Florida has reached a real high level. Lots we can learn from.”
His buddy, Draisaitl, signed an eight-year deal with the Oilers last August. His wife has a thriving business here.
The Oilers, as disappointing as last season was, will still be a top favourite to win a Stanley Cup next season.
There is no other place, outside Florida, we guess, that can fulfill McDavid’s wish list more than right here.
Leafs jammies be damned.
