{"id":28889,"date":"2025-07-01T04:06:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T04:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/28889\/"},"modified":"2025-07-01T04:06:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T04:06:09","slug":"mcdavid-contract-talks-will-begin-whenever-theyre-ready-oilers-gm-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/28889\/","title":{"rendered":"McDavid contract talks will begin \u2018whenever they\u2019re ready,\u2019 Oilers GM says"},"content":{"rendered":"

EDMONTON —<\/strong> Connor McDavid<\/a> is eligible to sign a new contract with the Edmonton Oilers as early as Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The Oilers are prepared to talk, whenever he is.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very eager to do that whenever they\u2019re ready,\u201d general manager Stan Bowman said on Saturday. \u201cI think Connor has earned the right to choose when he wants to get into the details of it and we\u2019re ready right now, he knows that. He\u2019s right that July 1 is a date where we can officially sign him to a contract, but besides that, it\u2019s just another date and it doesn\u2019t really change the process at all.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 We haven\u2019t talked to him at all about his contract, it\u2019s really just been talking to him about our team and how we can improve and what he sees and that kind of stuff. So, the conversations haven\u2019t even started as far as a contract.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his season-ending media availability on June 19, Edmonton\u2019s star center and captain said he wanted to take time to regroup and speak with his agent and family before making a decision on his future beyond this season.<\/p>\n

McDavid, 28, is entering the last of an eight-year, $100 million contract ($12.5 million average annual value) he signed July 5, 2017. He led the Oilers to their second straight appearance in the Stanley Cup Final this season, where they again lost to the Florida Panthers. He tied teammate Leon Draisaitl<\/a> for the NHL scoring lead this postseason with 33 points (seven goals, 26 assists) in 22 games. Draisaitl is set to play the first of an eight-year, $112 million contract ($14 million AAV) he signed on Sept. 3, 2024,<\/p>\n

Next season will be McDavid\u2019s 11th with Edmonton since it chose him with the No. 1 pick at the 2015 NHL Draft. He has 1,082 points (361 goals, 721 assists) in 712 regular-season games and 150 points (44 goals, 106 assists) in 96 playoff games.<\/p>\n

McDavid has won the Hart Trophy as the League\u2019s most valuable player three times (2017, 2021, 2023), the Ted Lindsay Award as most outstanding player as voted on by the NHLPA four times (2017, 2018, 2021, 2023) and the Art Ross Trophy as leading scorer five times (2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023). He also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs last season despite the Oilers losing to the Panthers in the Cup Final in seven games.<\/p>\n

Bowman said he is waiting for McDavid and his agent, Judd Moldaver, to initiate negotiations on a new contract. McDavid can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s just really driven to win,\u201d Bowman said. \u201cWe came close now two years in a row, so when you get that close you want to try and get that extra little bit to win an extra game or two next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not like we need an overhaul of our team. We\u2019re very close to where we need to be, but we\u2019re not quite there.\u201d<\/p>\n

McDavid is still seeking his first Stanley Cup championship and said winning was a top priority when it comes to his next contract. He acknowledged Edmonton gives him a good opportunity to win.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis core has been together for a long time, and we\u2019ve been building to this moment all along,\u201d McDavid said. \u201cThe work that\u2019s gone on behind the scenes, the conversations, the endless disappointment, and some good times along the way obviously as well. We\u2019re all in this together trying to get it over that finish line.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith that being said, ultimately I still need to do what\u2019s best for me and my family and that\u2019s what I have to take care of first. But of course there\u2019s unfinished business here, yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edmonton has six players currently on its roster eligible to become unrestricted free agents on Tuesday — forwards Corey Perry<\/a>, Jeff Skinner<\/a>, Connor Brown<\/a>, Kasperi Kapanen<\/a>, and Derek Ryan<\/a>, and defenseman John Klingberg<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Evan Bouchard<\/a> can become a restricted free agent, and Bowman said contract talks are underway. The 25-year-old defenseman had 67 points (14 goals, 53 assists) and was plus-14 in 82 regular-season games. He had 23 points (seven goals, 16 assists) in 22 playoff games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a meeting with (agent Dave Gagner) earlier and we\u2019ve begun negotiations, so I think that\u2019s kind of all I really want to say.\u201d Bowman said. \u201cCertainly, we think (Bouchard) is a great player, had an excellent year, and he\u2019s a big part of this.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to work through it. Timing-wise, I don\u2019t know how long it’s going to take; it\u2019s two sides and we\u2019re both trying to do what we can that makes the most sense.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EDMONTON — Connor McDavid is eligible to sign a new contract with the Edmonton Oilers as early as…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":28890,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[293,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-28889","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-nhl","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114776007334661907","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28889","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=28889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}