McDavid’s Loyalty to the Oilers Is Becoming More Admirable By the Day

It’s hard to believe, but Connor McDavid has already played 11 NHL seasons. It was nearly 11 years ago that the Edmonton Oilers took to the podium back in 2015 to announce that they were selecting what is now the game’s best player with the first-overall selection. To no surprise, it’s been an absolute blessing for the organization.

McDavid, who put up 138 points this past season, now sits with 409 goals and 1,220 points in only 794 games. Over that span he’s racked up six Art Ross Trophies, five Ted Lindsay Awards, three Hart Trophies, a Rocket Richard Trophy, and a Conn Smythe Trophy. He’s already one of the most decorated players in NHL history, and will go down as one of the best to ever play the game. That said, there’s still one feat he’s yet to accomplish.

That, of course, would be winning the Stanley Cup. He and the Oilers have come close, advancing to the Stanley Cup Final both in 2024 and 2025 before falling to the Florida Panthers. Those runs made it feel like winning a Cup was only a matter of time for Edmonton. Then, the 2025-26 season happened.

McDavid Staying Loyal Despite Frustration

Rather than continuing to serve as one of the NHL’s best teams this past season, the Oilers regressed in a major way. They finished the season with just 93 points, which would have resulted in them missing the playoffs entirely if they had played in the Eastern Conference.

To little surprise, the Oilers weren’t able to flip the switch in the playoffs. They continued to look like an old, slow team, and were eliminated in the first round by the Anaheim Ducks. It was a disastrous season and one that many feel could be the new normal in Edmonton given their salary limitations.

While certainly frustrated, McDavid still remains committed to Edmonton. In fact, he has had a big say in who gets hired as their new head coach, with reports stating that he and other leadership members from the roster met with Mike Babcock and other coaching candidates. It goes to show that his desire to win in Edmonton remains as strong as ever.

This type of loyalty from McDavid is becoming much rarer in today’s NHL. This is a player who seemingly has every excuse in the book to request a trade, and in all honesty, probably wouldn’t get a ton of flack from Oilers fans for doing so.

For example, in the time McDavid has been in the league, several high-calibre players have forced trades to other cities. Matthew Tkachuk did so back in 2022, while a more recent example includes Quinn Hughes. And, of course, there’s the Brady Tkachuk situation that unfolded over the weekend that saw him get traded to the Florida Panthers.

Meanwhile in Detroit, Dylan Larkin, who serves as the Red Wings captain, has grown sick of his team’s struggles. He has yet to be moved, but requested a trade shortly after the 2025-26 campaign wrapped up. It’s also being speculated that Zach Werenski may want to leave the Columbus Blue Jackets organization, while Connor Hellebuyck sounds as though he is leaning towards being traded by the Winnipeg Jets.

This isn’t meant as a knock on those players. They deserve a right to control, at least partially, where they play. As we all know, all NHLers are driven to win, and most of these trade requests have happened because the specific teams were nowhere near being a Stanley Cup contender. Still, the fact that the game’s best player has yet to win it all, yet still hasn’t requested a trade, shows just how important it is to McDavid to bring a championship to the city and organization that made his NHL dream come true.

Oilers Management Needs to Step Up

As loyal as McDavid has been, there’s a chance he’s getting close to being fed up. The writing was seemingly on the wall after he agreed to just a two-year contract extension, which is set to kick in this coming season. In other words, the time is ticking to win a Stanley Cup with McDavid on their roster.

It won’t be easy for general manager (GM) Stan Bowman to make the tweaks appropriate in order to put the Oilers in a better situation next season, but he needs to find a way. He hasn’t helped with certain decisions such as the Trent Frederic extension, and needs to do a better job to reward McDavid. After all, superstars like him almost never come around, and even more rarely stick around with a team who has made as many front office mistakes like Edmonton has.