McDavid reveals why he re-signed with Edmonton Oilers
Connor McDavid is committed to winning a Stanley Cup with the Edmonton Oilers.
The Oilers captain silenced the noise around his future earlier this week, inking a two-year contract extension that carries a shockingly low $12.5-million cap hit. It’s practically an extension of his current contract, which was signed back in 2017 and has an identical cap hit.
This came after months of speculation that McDavid may leave the Oilers in free agency next summer. A possibility that was getting louder and louder with every passing day without a deal getting done.
McDavid chatted with the media on Tuesday morning and revealed the reason why he decided to re-sign with Edmonton.
“Ultimately, our hearts here in Edmonton, our hearts here with the core guys, with the guys in this room,” McDavid said of him and his family. “The city and the fans are important to us, and we want to win here.
“We want to bring [the Stanley Cup] back here and make our city proud, but mostly for the guys in this room. We’ve been through a lot together, and to see it through together is important.”
Interestingly, McDavid opted for a two-year deal rather than a longer-term contract, unlike fellow Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl, who signed a longer-term deal last offseason. This puts pressure on management to build a winning team over the next three seasons or risk losing McDavid with nothing to show for it.
The Oilers captain said a long-term contract wasn’t in the cards and gave his reasoning on why two years felt right for this deal.
“Two years makes a lot of sense,” McDavid said. “Gives us a chance to continue chasing down what we’ve been chasing down here with the core guys that have been here.
“I think everybody understands the situation in this room and this organization is in. We want to win… if [this contract] lends urgency, that’s a good byproduct.”
The money attached to this extension shocked a lot of people. We have seen superstar players creeping toward the $20-million mark over the past few seasons, with Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprisov recently inking a monster seven-year extension that carries a $17-million cap hit.
McDavid could have topped that number if he wanted, but it’s clear this negotiation wasn’t about money.
“We weren’t going to sign a long-term deal, so two years at [$12.5 million] makes a lot of sense,” McDavid said. “It’s about winning, and that’s always what I’ve preached, and I think this deal gives both sides what they’re looking for.
“Lenny’s not going to go hungry with that money, so we’ll be fine.”
With all the anxiety and fear this caused among the Oilers fanbase, how real was the threat of McDavid leaving? Was it right to be worried that this was his last year in Edmonton, or was it always going to end this way?
According to McDavid, not signing an extension and testing free agency was an option he considered.
“I said everything was on the table, and I meant it,” McDavid said. “Of course, everything was on the table; that’s the point of being in that situation, you have your options.”
Luckily, it did not get to that point, and McDavid decided to cut off the excess noise before the regular season gets underway on Wednesday night.
His focus will now shift to getting the Oilers back to a third-straight Stanley Cup Final.