Edmonton Oilers GM Stan Bowman gives update on McDavid contract talks
It’s nearly August, but the Edmonton Oilers still haven’t signed Connor McDavid to a contract extension.
The Oilers captain has one more year left on his current deal but will become a UFA next summer if an extension isn’t signed before then. It’s justifiably creating some angst within the fanbase as speculation has swirled for years about McDavid potentially leaving the Oilers for greener pastures.
While Edmonton hasn’t won the Stanley Cup with McDavid, they have advanced to the Final the last two seasons, showing that there is potential for him to win in the Alberta capital.
Oilers GM Stan Bowman chatted with 880 CHED’s Bob Stauffer on the Tuesday edition of OilersNow, where he gave an update on where contract talks are with the superstar.
“I’ve had really good conversations with [McDavid’s agent] Judd [Moldaver] since the season ended,” Bowman said. “I’ve tried to give Connor his space…Ā A lot of this is respecting the athlete and their timeline.
“We haven’t had any of those types of detailed discussions yet, but we certainly will. I think we’re very encouraged by all the conversations we’ve had to date. When the time comes, the time comes.”
It’s a bit surprising that both camps haven’t had detailed discussions about what McDavid’s next contract in Edmonton could look like. It’s more than a month into the offseason, and you would think both sides would want to get this done sooner rather than later.
Still, Bowman did seem optimistic that something would get done and that the Oilers are not in a hurry to pester their captain to sign on the dotted line.
This isn’t the first time that Bowman has waited out a contract extension for a superstar player as GM of the Oilers. Just last summer, he had to do the same song and dance with Leon Draisaitl, and that saga ended with the German signing an eight-year extension on September 3.
When you look back on how that contract came together, nobody should be sounding the alarm bells on McDavid quite yet. However, if we get deep into training camp without an extension, the anxiety will ramp up once again.