After a summer of vague remarks, almosts and maybes, Connor McDavid has finally signed a contract extension with Edmonton. NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reported that McDavid wanted to provide “clarity” to the Oilers before the season began, either by signing or explaining why he wouldn’t. This created an anxious atmosphere, with Friedman noting that a short-term, team-friendly deal was likely if one were to be reached at all, speculating it would be “lower than many people expect, below $16 (million).”

Further fueling the 50-50 odds was the record-setting eight-year, $136-million contract extension signed by Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota Wild), which reset the market and highlighted the massive salary McDavid could have commanded.

Against this backdrop of speculation, McDavid’s decision to stay provides stability and affirms his loyalty to the franchise. Somewhat similar to the preseason predictions, the new contract is a two-year agreement carrying an annual average value (AAV) of $12.5 million. Immediately, Connor McDavid took to social media to announce the news to fans, sharing an Instagram post that read, “Our journey here continues 🧡💙”

The message, accompanied by four different pictures of him with the team, visually reinforced his deep connection to his teammates and the city of Edmonton. This gesture underscores that his decision was driven by more than just finances. Insiders like Friedman have pointed to McDavid’s “real loyalty” to core teammates like Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Darnell Nurse as a key factor in his choice to stay.

Furthermore, his wife’s business ventures in the city have solidified his roots in the community. Most importantly, this contract fulfills the promise McDavid made just weeks earlier when he stated, “I’ll take my time and go through everything. I have every intention to win in Edmonton. It’s my only focus, maybe next to winning a gold medal with Canada.”

By taking a shorter, more affordable deal, McDavid provides the Oilers with crucial salary cap flexibility, allowing general manager Stan Bowman more room to build a competitive roster around him and Draisaitl for another run at the Stanley Cup that has eluded them after back-to-back Final appearances. However, McDavid’s decision wasn’t easy.

Connor McDavid kept his cards close to his chest all summer

Connor McDavid’s future with the Edmonton Oilers really grabbed everyone’s attention during the NHL offseason and even into the preseason. He was just about to kick off his last year of that big eight-year, $100 million contract, and the lack of any official news about a new extension was making every single Oilers fan go a little wild.

But since there weren’t any updates coming from either side, McDavid eventually shared why he was taking his time with the contract. He said, “I mean, when you’re trying to plan the next three, four, six, seven, nine years of your life, you don’t just dream it up in one day. You take your time, talk it over, think about it some more, talk it over again. It’s not something that I take lightly. It’s not something that my family takes lightly. As I alluded to yesterday, I didn’t put everything I have into my career, just like everybody here. You only get one chance to do it and to do it right, and that leads to taking your time with it. Nothing else to really say.”

McDavid has been with the Oilers ever since he was drafted by them in 2015. It’s been years, and he has gone from being just a prodigy to someone who carries the light for the franchise during some pretty dark times. But when the Oilers kept getting knocked out of the finals for two years in a row without any results, people started to worry about his future. Well, all those concerns have faded away since the captain is set to stick around for more action in Edmonton with this new extension.