The Edmonton Oilers spent much of their offseason negotiating a new contract with Connor McDavid. It took a long time, as the Edmonton captain elected to take his time with this process. But they were able to work something out in the end. McDavid re-signed with the Oilers just before the puck dropped on the 2025-26 NHL season.
McDavid signed a two-year contract worth $12.5 million a season. This doesn’t necessarily answer many questions about his long-term status with the Oilers. Rather, it kicks the can down the road a little bit. Still, his immediate future is in Edmonton, and he will look to win the Stanley Cup with this team.
Naturally, McDavid’s contract drew a ton of different comparisons. Chief among them was the deal signed by Minnesota Wild star Kirill Kaprizov. Kaprizov signed an eight-year contract worth a total of $136 million — the largest contract in NHL history. This contract set the market for star-level pending free agents, and some wondered if McDavid would take the big-money deal himself.
He recently pushed back at the comparisons between his contract and Kaprizov’s, saying:
“It’s unfair for people to say a bad thing about anybody. Everybody who plays in this league earns it. Everybody who makes money in this league earns that. It’s different situations, different cap situations, different teams, different constructs.”
### Connor McDavid Opens Up On Re-Signing With Oilers
McDavid would undoubtedly have received a better offer in NHL free agency. He is the most talented player in the NHL, has already built himself a Hall of Fame resume, and has proven himself to be a gamebreaker in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The interest would have been there. However, the Oilers captain had unfinished business in Edmonton coming off two straight defeats in the Stanley Cup Final. He wanted to re-sign in Edmonton.
More than this, he wanted to provide the team a chance to make the moves they needed to get over the hump come June. “Obviously, the feeling was I was going to get some raise. The money they’ve gotten back is money they can go spend. That was the feeling,” McDavid explained.
### McDavid Lauded For Commitment To Edmonton
This is very much a prove-it contract for the Oilers. If they don’t win the Cup by the end of his new extension, the captain could very well move on and make even more money on the open market in July 2028. Still, his decision to hold firm on his current salary makes sense, and it’s a decision that hasn’t gone unnoticed.
His current teammates noticed what he gave up to remain with the team. “For us as a team, it shows how much he wants to win and his willingness to sacrifice for the group. That’s your captain leading by example,” they said.
The Oilers are looking to finally win the Stanley Cup once again. They have the chance to improve their depth over the next few seasons, and they will have the most talented player in the game leading the way, for now.
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