Make no mistake, Connor McDavid could walk into contract negotiations with the Edmonton Oilers and get a blank cheque.

There’s no amount of money he isn’t worth to this franchise and the City of Edmonton as a whole.

But, of course, such a deal would have significant financial constraints on the Oilers trying to fill out the rest of their roster. The maximum dollar amount he could sign for is $19,100,000, which is 20 percent of the salary cap this season. It wouldn’t be impossible, but it would be very uncomfortable.

It’s unlikely that McDavid would want to do that, as after all, there’s nothing more important to him and his career than winning a Stanley Cup.

So it begs the question: what should McDavid’s next contract look like?

The contract’s term will undoubtedly be something that needs to be decided upon first. Does he opt for a shorter-term, four-year deal to keep the pressure on the Oilers and allow the now 28-year-old to cash in once again in his early 30’s? Or does he opt for the long-term, eight-year deal in the final season that players will be allowed to do so?

There’s been talk that the shorter-term deal is a definite option, and the argument, as mentioned above, makes sense. I’m not entirely convinced that’s the route he’s going to go, however.

McDavid has never been a big fan of the spotlight being placed on him, and it was clear he never wanted to talk about that during this season or in the playoffs. Would he really want to put himself in a position where that’s something that would happen again in four years?

His right-hand man, Leon Draisaitl just signed an eight-year term last summer. There’s no stronger commitment for McDavid to make to this franchise, and his friend, than ensuring he’s in it for the long haul.

It’s worth noting, too, that when Draisaitl signed his initial eight-year extension with the Oilers coming out of his entry-level deal, McDavid followed suit just one year later.

That contract made McDavid the highest-paid player in the league at the time in 2018-19, carrying a $12.5-million cap hit that was $1.5-million ahead of John Tavares’ $11-million deal, the second highest in the league. McDavid ended up taking less money, too, opting to cut $500,000 per year from the contract before it was made official.

His deal was 15.72 percent of the salary cap this season, and if he were to sign at the same dollar amount, that would end up carrying a $15,012,600 cap hit — a number that has been ballparked for what his extension could look like.

If we look back at the comparison to Tavares’ deal in present terms, the highest-paid player in 2026-27 when McDavid’s extension kicks in would be Draisaitl’s deal at $14-million per year. An additional $1.5-million on top of that would put McDavid at $15.5-million.

But the Oilers still might be able to get McDavid for less, according to Evolving Hockey‘s contract projections, which figure the most likely deal the Oilers captain signs being an eight-year deal carrying a $14.54-million cap hit. They project there to be a staggering 85 percent chance of that term being what McDavid signs for, with the next closest being a seven-year deal with a $14.55-million cap hit. There’s slim chances at a four or five year term, mind you, which would carry $13.94-million and $13.69-million cap hits.

It’s impossible to sit and compare McDavid to any other player in the league, unlike comparing Jake Walman’s potential extension to the likes of Vladislav Gavrikov and Aaron Ekblad.

That’s because McDavid sits in a league of his own in today’s NHL and will likely continue to for years to come. No matter what his camp and the team are able to agree too, what Stan Bowman and the Oilers brass will need to lay out is what the team is able to do around whatever contract’s are on the table.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.