After back-to-back Stanley Cup Final runs, everyone around the Edmonton Oilers felt 2026 could be their year. With Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl leading the team, expectations were sky high. But things did not go their way. The Oilers could not complete their comeback in the first-round playoff series against the Anaheim Ducks. For a team that had reached such highs in recent seasons, this early exit felt heavy. And it pushed Captain McDavid to share his frustration with the season.

Right after the Game 6 loss on May 1, McDavid was honest in the post-game press conference. “I mean, it’s been the whole year. We’ve been searching for consistency all year. Obviously, we didn’t find it here in the playoffs,” he said.

Then Connor McDavid added a shocking line about the team, “We were an average team all year. You know, an average team with high expectations, you’re going to be disappointed… We just never found it.” There was no anger in his tone, but more frustration and disappointment. After all, the series itself told a similar story.

Edmonton started well with a Game 1 win, but Anaheim quickly flipped the momentum in Game 2. Game 3 turned into a rough night for the Oilers, a 7-4 loss where the Ducks broke things open late. Game 4 went even tighter but still ended Anaheim’s way in overtime, putting Edmonton down 3-1. They fought back in Game 5 with a 4-1 win. But Game 6 never really swung their way. Anaheim controlled it early, winning it 5-2. The series was another disappointing loss for the Oilers, ending their postseason hopes altogether.  But this wasn’t just a one-series issue either.

Edmonton had reached the Stanley Cup Final in both 2024 and 2025, losing both times to Florida, but this time, they didn’t even make it out of the first round for the first time since 2021. They also posted their lowest percentage of points in the regular season (.567) since 2018-19.

On the flip side, Anaheim had something to celebrate. This was their first-time back in the playoffs since 2018, and their first series victory since 2017, which happened to be against Edmonton, as well. But after the season, the attention didn’t go to the series, but back to one person: Connor McDavid. Because when Edmonton misses the mark, it always comes back to him, even though everything else remains the same.

Connor McDavid’s short-term deal keeps Edmonton’s future in focus

Connor McDavid signed a two-year extension last October at $12.5 million per year. It keeps him in Edmonton through the next few seasons and gives the Oilers a clear window to build a real contender around him. At the same time, it also keeps his long-term future open. He can still become a free agent in 2028 at age 32, which was a key part of why the deal was structured this way.

When he signed it, Connor McDavid was clear about his thinking. “I obviously said I was committed to winning here, and I meant that when I said that, and two years makes a lot of sense,” McDavid said last October. “It gives us a chance to continue chasing down what we’ve been chasing down here with the core guys we have in here, and we have a little bit of money to work with, too.”

Even after another early exit, there is no public sign that he wants out or is pushing for a trade. But the structure of the deal keeps attention on every season. Nothing feels settled when the timeline is short, and the results keep falling short of expectations.