{"id":197470,"date":"2025-09-03T18:19:30","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T18:19:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/197470\/"},"modified":"2025-09-03T18:19:30","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T18:19:30","slug":"oilers-gm-stan-bowman-not-rushing-connor-mcdavid-talks-when-hes-ready-hes-ready","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/197470\/","title":{"rendered":"Oilers GM Stan Bowman not rushing Connor McDavid talks: \u2018When he\u2019s ready, he\u2019s ready\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

DETROIT \u2014 A week after Connor McDavid addressed his contract situation<\/a> at Canadian Olympic camp, Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman calmly exuded confidence in the process while acknowledging that it\u2019s going to be a big talking point around the NHL until it\u2019s resolved.<\/p>\n

McDavid seemed pretty forthright in his comments to the media in Calgary last week, reiterating that what\u2019s important to him is winning a Stanley Cup and that he has \u201cevery intention\u201d of doing so in Edmonton \u2014 but is working his way through his process as far as when he feels ready to greenlight a contract-extension negotiation.<\/p>\n

All good with the Oilers front office.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to approach Connor differently than anyone else because he is different than anyone else,\u201d Bowman told The Athletic in an interview before the NHL GM\/coaches meeting Wednesday. \u201cHe\u2019s the best player in the world and, as a result, has earned the right to handle this the way he feels right to handle it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we can just support him in that process. I have no reason to doubt anything he said (last week). I take him to his word that he\u2019s focused on winning the Cup in Edmonton. And we feel the same way. It\u2019s just really trying to maintain patience. That\u2019s the hard thing for the outside world to do. But for us, that\u2019s fine. He\u2019s always been a man of his word to me. I trust him. He\u2019s going through his own process, and when he\u2019s ready, he\u2019s ready. That\u2019s understandable.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I guess the internal feeling is different maybe than what\u2019s swirling on the outside. But I think that\u2019s more out of respect for Connor and being patient with where he\u2019s at.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bowman added that he and the Oilers\u2019 brain trust, led by CEO and president of hockey operations Jeff Jackson (McDavid\u2019s former agent), have spoken at length with McDavid and his agent, Judd Moldaver.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight after the season, we met with Connor in person, but it was less about the contract \u2014 it\u2019s a different negotiation that way than other players,\u201d Bowman said. \u201cThe conversations were really more about the team itself. Like, \u2018How are we going to get over the hump?\u2019 \u2018What do you see, and here\u2019s what I see.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re really all positive and constructive conversations. We\u2019ve had great discussions with Judd, as well, throughout the process this summer. Really just trying to be respectful. Connor is that player who has earned the right not to be forced into anything. It\u2019s on his plate, and when he\u2019s ready, he\u2019s ready.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

When will No. 97 be ready to negotiate? That\u2019s what no one is sure of. Perhaps not even McDavid himself at this point. Will he wake up next week and want to get it done before camp? Or wait until before the regular season next month? Or wait until halfway through the season after getting a handle on the team? Or play out the season before deciding? Those are all possibilities.<\/p>\n

At the core of it, I think, is McDavid deciding where he sees the Oilers in two or three years. Will they still be elite contenders?<\/p>\n

If and when McDavid is ready to bring it to the next level and instruct Moldaver to begin the numbers part of the discussion, it shouldn\u2019t take long. The player holds all the cards in that negotiation.<\/p>\n

But until then, the hockey world waits on McDavid\u2019s decision. Will the white noise around it bother him? Will it be a distraction for his teammates? All factors that could play into his decision.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, the beat goes on for an Oilers team once again having had a short summer but without the benefit of a Cup celebration.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s challenging when you go that far but you fall short,\u201d Bowman said. \u201cI was fortunate the other years that I made it (3-0 in Cup Finals with the Chicago Blackhawks). It reminded me of a conversation I had with (former Boston Bruins GM) Peter Chiarelli in 2013 (after the Blackhawks beat the Bruins in the Final). Start of the next season, and I was lamenting the fact (that) we didn\u2019t have much time to prepare. He laughed and said, \u2018Well, we didn\u2019t either, we had just as short a summer, but we didn\u2019t win anything.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Oilers GM Stan Bowman and coach Kris Knoblauch speak to the media before the team\u2019s second straight Stanley Cup Final appearance. (Steph Chambers \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Those short summers sting even more.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut as time passes, you can reflect on the season a little bit differently,\u201d Bowman said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of heartache in the moment, but you recognize we did a lot of good things. We had a great run. It was fun to be part of and to watch the city be captivated by the team. And the passion for our players, to keep pushing and finding a way after that slow start against Los Angeles (in the first round).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe resiliency is something you come to appreciate. But the job is not done yet. We just have to keep at it. Two years in a row, right there. Hopefully third time\u2019s a charm.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Oilers tweaked their roster this summer, particularly up front. Out are Corey Perry, Jeff Skinner, Evander Kane and Viktor Arvidsson. In is Andrew Mangiapane. Trade deadline pickup Trent Frederic was extended, and there\u2019s room for younger players to grab a role, such as Matt Savoie and newcomer Ike Howard.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s pretty optimistic about their team at this time of year,\u201d Bowman said. \u201cEverything you\u2019ve envisioned, you envision in the most positive light. But no, I\u2019m encouraged. I\u2019m excited we\u2019ve got some different looks with some younger players. Some excitement. Some things we haven\u2019t had in the past. We have some new players coming over from Europe that are going to be exciting, but people don\u2019t know much about.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce everyone sees them and our coaches do and get familiar with what they can do, I do think we have enough newness that it\u2019s going to be a fresh season for us. I can\u2019t wait to get going.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Photo of Connor McDavid: Bruce Bennett \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DETROIT \u2014 A week after Connor McDavid addressed his contract situation at Canadian Olympic camp, Edmonton Oilers general…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":197471,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[2997,293,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-197470","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-edmonton-oilers","9":"tag-nhl","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115141750389617585","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/197471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=197470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=197470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}