“I’m going to talk to my agent a little bit and family and all that, and make some decisions whenever that time comes. But there’s no rush on anything like that.” That’s what Connor McDavid told reporters on June 19 when he was asked about his contract extension. The star center, currently in the final year of his 8-year, $100 million contract, was in no rush to put pen to paper on a new deal. As for Oilers GM Stan Bowman, he was more than happy to let the former Conn Smyth winner take his time.

“I think listening to Connor’s take on things, he’s earned the right for us to be respectful of his time,” Bowman told reporters the following day as he assured that McDavid continues to be the Oilers’ top priority. “Timing-wise, Connor is going to drive that process, but there’s no question he’s a pivotal player on our team and not just what he does on the ice, but his leadership,” he added. Cut to now, the timeline is still unclear, but talks have progressed in the right direction.

The Edmonton team’s GM was on the Oilers Now show, where he talked about Connor McDavid’s contract extension. When host of the show, Bob Stauffer, asked Stan Bowman about the potential timeline of McDavid’s contract, the Oilers GM said, “I’ve had really good conversations with Judd [Moldaver] (McDavid’s agent) since the season ended. And I’ve tried to give Conor his space. I think that it’s important a lot. You know, a lot of this is respecting the athlete and their timeline. We haven’t had any of those types of detailed discussions yet, but we certainly will, and I think we’re very encouraged by all the conversations I’ve had to date. When the time comes, the time comes.” But while Bowman doesn’t have a timeline yet, Stauffer himself thinks that a deal could be finalized towards the end of next month.

According to the Oilers’ radio analyst, Podkolzin, Walman, Ekholm, and McDavid could all sign new deals by August 28. Stauffer added that he, along with insider Frank Seravalli, had no doubts that McDavid would re-sign and that things could start moving once everyone returns from Leon Draisaitl’s wedding. And as for Seravalli, well, he is also clear about the numbers that could be on McDavid’s potential new deal.

Big money awaits Connor McDavid

Speaking on Bleacher Report Open Ice, Seravalli said, “If I were looking at the Connor McDavid situation as best I can handicap it at this point in time. My guess is that it’s not going to be an eight-year deal. It’ll be less than that, probably four, and somewhere between $16 and $17.5 million in AAV. I’m not really even confident saying completely that it’s going to be a four-year deal.” Even if it is an eight-year deal, Seravalli feels, McDavid has enough sway within the team to just tell them that he wants out, and they’ll have no choice but to let him go.

Daily Faceoff‘s Jason Gregor, too, wouldn’t be surprised to see a shorter term of around five years, with an AAV in the range of $15.5-$16 million. A deal of that value will make McDavid the highest-paid player in the NHL in terms of AAV. Given how Draisaitl signed a massive 8-year, $112 million deal last year in September, it’s safe to say that the speculation holds merit.

But let’s see how much contract extension he gets amid his trade rumors and extension rumors. Yes, the Oilers star is also surrounded by trade rumors. The Maple Leafs and the Kings are at the centre of these talks. Let’s see where these talks go.