Connor McDavid has put an end to summer of rumors about his future by signing a two-year, $25 million contract extension with the Edmonton Oilers. This deal comes with a pretty team-friendly average annual value (AAV) of $12.5 million. This figure is quite a bit lower than the record-setting $17 million AAV that Kirill Kaprizov just landed with the Minnesota Wild, and it’s also $1.5 million less per season than what teammate Leon Draisaitl is making at $14 million AAV.

The contract kicks off in the 2026-27 season and lays down a clear deadline for the Oilers to snag their first Stanley Cup since 1990. It also means McDavid will become an unrestricted free agent after the 2027-28 season. After the signing, McDavid shared his honest thoughts about the team’s makeup, openly discussing the price of their extended championship quest.

According to The Athletic, McDavid mentioned, “There’s no secret that for a team that pushes for it every year like we have for the last four or five years — we’ve given up first-round picks and prospects — there aren’t a ton of young guys. Two years gives us a chance to play this out. It gives us every opportunity to build something here.”

This statement points out a key reality for competing teams: they often trade away valuable assets like first-round picks and promising prospects to get immediate help, which can drain their supply of new, cost-effective talent. The Oilers’ recent history shows how they’ve dealt with a tricky salary cap situation. This has resulted in losing RFAs like Dylan Holloway and Phillip Broberg to an offer sheet, and they even had to make some cap-dump trades with players like Evander Kane and Viktor Arvidsson just to keep their key contributors on the team.

McDavid’s new contract is a reaction to this challenge. Indeed, not taking a possible max deal gives GM Stan Bowman some financial wiggle room, which he quickly used to sign defenseman Jake Walman to a seven-year, $49 million contract. The captain’s straightforward view highlights that moving ahead isn’t about relying on new players from the draft; it’s really about making the most of the team we have right now.

The two years he talks about are the timeframe his new contract gives the organization to show that it can finally create a championship team around him. So, regarding the most recent McDavid deal, what has the general manager of the Oilers said?

The Connor McDavid signing was quite unique

For months before the regular season, there were a lot of rumors swirling around about Connor McDavid’s future with the Oilers. After the recent contract extension, General Manager Stan Bowman shared that the special terms were really influenced by McDavid’s one-of-a-kind focus, saying, “This is unique. I would say there’s nothing else like this negotiation, if you want to call it that. It was really more of a dialogue and a conversation throughout the last few months and really nothing to do with the contract itself.”

He continued, “Usually when you have a negotiation, it’s more about a back-and-forth of the term, but that was never talked about. It was really more the other parts of where we’re headed, the vision for the team and how we’re going to improve, all those types of discussions.”

Bowman pointed out that the $12.5 million AAV “was what Connor wanted,” showing how dedicated the captain is to winning rather than just focusing on his paycheck. Now that his legacy and the future of the franchise are at stake, management really needs to make the most of the financial flexibility and the extra time their superstar has generously given them. The ultimate goal is still the same, with Bowman affirming, “We’re not trying to build this up to be good down the road. We want to win now.”