The Edmonton Oilers are hoping they can get an extension done with their captain, Connor McDavid, before the 2025-26 season gets underway. While there haven’t been any indications of what a new deal will look like, some popular pundits revealed recently that a deal could be coming near the end of August.
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They mention that a new deal could be either a two-year extension or a four-year extension, and reiterate that he isn’t expected to sign an eight-year extension at this point.
We are hearing that the contract extension for Connor McDavid will most likely happen after the Team Canada Orientation Camp which is August 26th to the 28th in Calgary.
— 2 Mutts Hockey Podcast (@2MuttsHockeyPod) August 10, 2025
The plan is to announce the contract extension before the Captain Skates begin & Training Camp starts.
We… https://t.co/pDuAyHaSIP
They also touch on the fact that the average annual value (AAV) could be around $17.5 million, which would make McDavid the highest-paid player in the NHL. With that being said, it sounds like the Oilers are closing in on getting an extension done sooner rather than later. While speculation has risen that the Oilers are also focused on getting extensions done for Jake Walman, Vasily Podkolzin, Brett Kulak, and Mattias Ekholm as well, their key focus will be getting their franchise cornerstone extended at some point.
How Trustworthy is the Report?
Fans have a love-hate relationship with the 2 Mutts Hockey Podcast, with some often questioning their sources and their reporting, but they have been spot-on in the past, specifically with the Leon Draisaitl extension, as they were the first ones on it before the Oilers announced the monster eight-year extension.
They have gotten some things wrong before, so taking their report with a grain of salt would be smart for anyone at this point in the offseason, but it’s exciting that McDavid could be closing in on extending and putting the reports of him signing anywhere else to bed, and with their overall track record, 2 Mutts is a reliable enough source to believe something is close.
McDavid Pushing for First Stanley Cup, Is That Why He’s Holding Out?
Oilers fans are concerned that McDavid isn’t interested in signing a long-term extension because he wants to leave when the Oilers’ championship window closes, or that he is going to sign a short-term deal because he wants to put pressure on the Oilers’ organization to keep the team competitive while he tries to win his first Stanley Cup.
However, it seems as though he is simply trying to take advantage of a rising salary cap, and is banking on himself to continue playing at an incredible level, and could get another pay raise a few years down the road.
There doesn’t seem to be any indication that McDavid ever wants to leave the Oilers, considering he has always spoken highly of the organization and seems to want to continue playing with some of his best friends in Draisaitl and Darnell Nurse, but rumours will always continue to spread as long as he doesn’t have an extension signed.
At the end of the day, McDavid has made it clear he wants to remain with the Oilers for the rest of his career. The organization has done a great job of surrounding him and putting a contending team on the ice every season, and he recognizes that. Time will tell how long he signs an extension for, but one thing is for certain:
McDavid isn’t leaving the Oilers anytime soon.
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