When it comes to guys whose price tags have gone up in the wake of Celebrini’s signing, none have spiked higher than Connor McDavid.
No. 97 gave Bowman and the Oilers a break last fall when he signed a two-year extension that amounted to a hometown discount at $12.5 million per year, but he’ll be eligible for another extension at the end of the 2026-27 season, and there’s little chance he’ll respond to Celebrini’s league-best deal by accepting a contract that doesn’t reflect his six scoring titles and three MVPs.
The bidding likely starts at five years at $20 million per year, and the chatter about a possible trade will surely spring up around this winter’s trade deadline—and will anyone really be surprised if McDavid winds up alongside Celebrini, with whom he excelled during the 2026 Olympics in Italy, in teal, black and white?