Edmonton Says Goodbye to Veteran as Connor McDavid Confirms Stance on Contract

The 2025 offseason has been all about rebuilding for the Oilers. The back-to-back Stanley Cup Final defeats haven’t made things easy. But the biggest challenge of all has been the situation with Connor McDavid’s contract negotiations. “If I feel that there’s a good window to win here over and over again, then signing is no problem.” said McDavid at Hockey Canada’s Olympic camp. In other words, the Oilers have to plan carefully going into the new season. But one thing is for sure: they will have to do it without a familiar face in the locker room.

Derek Ryan, one of the veteran names on the Oilers roster, has decided to hang up his skates ahead of the 2025-26 season. EP Stories writer and hockey analytics expert, JFresh, shared the news on X on September 6. The caption read: “Derek Ryan, fourth line legend, has announced his retirement”. And quite obviously, the writer also shared an image of the profile analytics of the player from the 2023 season, which neatly tabulated the veteran center’s attributes. And you get to see why he was such a good fourth-liner.

The 38-year-old had a projected WAR percentage of 78%. His even-strength (5v5) offensive percentage was 67%, okay for a depth forward. But his 99% EV defense was what made him such a great asset as a disruptor when the likes of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl had to take the bench.

Ryan played 36 regular-season games in the 2024-25 season, notching 1 goal and 5 assists. He didn’t play a part in the playoffs though, and signs off from the NHL after having played 606 games. He has 82 career goals and 127 assists, with his best output coming in the 2018-19 season with the Flames – 13 goals and 25 assists with a rating of +21.

Derek Ryan’s story is one of second chances and determination as the Spokane, Washington-born native was undrafted, as there were reservations about his small stature. But his successful 2014-15 season in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) led the Hurricanes to sign him as a free agent in 2015. The center scored 15 goals and 45 assists for SHL side Orebro HK, which even got him named the League MVP and Forward of the Year award.

Players like Derek Ryan are always bringing their best to the ice, something the Oilers would have always appreciated. These guys do the dirty work so that the likes of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl can shine. And it’s a team as a whole that wins a Stanley Cup. You need a Derek Ryan. And you need a Connor McDavid. But right now, the Oilers can’t even say they have the latter superstar secured.

Connor McDavid cryptic about his Oilers future

The biggest story of the offseason has to be the Connor McDavid contract saga. Into the final year of his contract, and the Oilers still haven’t managed to bring their captain to the negotiation table. Yes, the 28-year-old center is back in the training camp with the rest of the roster. But as far as contract renewal is concerned, McDavid is being extra careful.

Talking to Sportsnet, the Oilers forward made it clear he will decide keeping his long-term plans in mind. “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,” McDavid said.

What he further said was rather confusing to decode. “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.”

A lot of words, but nothing concrete and no progress in terms of negotiations. Does Connor McDavid at all see a future in Edmonton? Some TSN analysts are skeptical. Even Paul Bissonnette thinks the Oilers won’t be able to put together a supporting team around Connor McDavid, which will push the Canadian maestro to look for greener pastures elsewhere, sooner rather than later.