The Edmonton Oilers and superstar Connor McDavid have agreed on a two-year, $25 million contract extension.
McDavid clearly left money on the table in his extension, which comes less than a week after Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov reset the market with his record-setting eight-year, $136 million contract ($17M AAV) last week.
In fact, McDavid will continue to carry the same $12.5 million cap hit he does on his current his eight-year, $100 million deal signed in 2017.
“Connor’s commitment to our team and our city is surpassed only by his singular focus on bringing a Stanley Cup back to fans of the Edmonton Oilers,” general manager Stan Bowman said in a statement.
Reaching a deal comes less than a week after Bowman said Wednesday it’s not a guarantee that McDavid would enter the season as a pending unrestricted free agent, despite all signs seemingly pointing that way at the time.
“I don’t have expectations either way on that,” Bowman said last week of when asked if it’s clear McDavid will reach next week without a new deal in place. “I think we’re continuing to talk to [McDavid’s agent Judd Moldaver] regularly, I talk to him almost every day and had good chats with Connor all along the way too. I don’t like to make predictions, we’ll see where it goes.”
The 28-year-old superstar’s future has been a source of speculation since he said in June he wanted to see a commitment to winning before opening talks just days after the Oilers fell to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight year.
McDavid is a generational talent with three Hart Trophies who has led the league in scoring in five of his 10 seasons.
McDavid recorded 26 goals and 100 points in 67 games with the Oilers last season. He added seven goals and 33 points in 22 playoff games.
The team opens its 2025-26 season Wednesday, hosting the Calgary Flames.
More details to follow.