The Edmonton Oilers have one major contract they need to deal with sooner rather than later, but despite the positive updates surrounding it as the offseason moves along, fans continue to grow concerned without an announcement. Connor McDavid, the captain of the Oilers and the team’s best player, is eligible for an extension, and his current deal expires at the end of the 2025-26 season. While fans would love to see a long-term, eight-year contract extension done for McDavid, speculation is growing that he could seek a shorter four or five-year deal.
Related: Analyzing Rumour of Evander Kane Returning to Oilers in 2026-27 Season
Either way, the Oilers will need to get creative if they want to lock up their captain and franchise cornerstone. Every indication is that he wants to return to the Oilers and remain with them for the rest of his career, and while it’s taking a little longer than expected to get an extension done, nobody in the Oilers’ organization seems to be worried whatsoever. To add to the positive discussion, a trusted Oilers pundit recently suggested a creative way to keep him around.
Short-Term Deal Into Another Short-Term Deal?
In a recent article at Oilers Nation, Jason Gregor suggested the Oilers sign McDavid to a team-friendly one-year deal, writing: “What if McDavid signs a one-year extension this August with a $14.6 million AAV? This contract would be for the 2026-27 season. The salary cap that season will be $104 million, while in 2027-28 it jumps up to $113 million.” He added: “..then in January of 2027 (because when you sign a one-year extension you can’t sign a new deal until January of the year of the contract), McDavid signs a three-year extension at $17 million.”
In terms of why they should do this, Gregor went on to add: “Because in 2026-27 the cap is $104 million, while it jumps up to $113 million the following year and will likely keep climbing. By signing the one-year deal when the cap is $9 million lower, it gives the Oilers and McDavid more cap space to fill out the roster. At $14 million, he is still the highest-paid Oiler, and likely highest paid in the NHL, and then when he signs the three-year extension, his total money earned over the four years is $65.6 million, which would average $16.4 million over the four seasons.”
There is almost no world where McDavid does this, but it’s not the worst idea in the world. If he agrees to leave some money on the table, it gives the Oilers an opportunity to spend some more money and fill out some spots that may need fixing, if they find that players are surprisingly bad, or are declining.
At the end of the day, the Oilers will get an extension done for their captain. He doesn’t have any interest in leaving, nor does he seem interested in testing the open market to see what is out there for him. The Oilers have made some moves this offseason tha prove they want to remain in championship contention for the next several seasons, which is exactly what McDavid wants. Holding out a little longer than usual may be forcing the Oilers to make those moves, but it doesn’t mean he is threatening to leave if they don’t stack the team with stars.
Time will tell what McDavid’s next deal looks like, but it’s a matter of when, not if, he signs his new deal. As well, we will find out soon enough if he will take a short-term extension, or if he will sign a long-term deal.
As the 2025-26 season approaches, be sure to continue following The Hockey Writers as your source for news from around the NHL and the hockey world.
