Connor McDavid is staying in Edmonton for the next three years (at least), and the rest of the NHL can go ahead and cry about it. And in the words of our captain, “Our journey here continues.“

For his entire time as an Oiler, the rest of the hockey world has been gagging about the idea of Connor McDavid leaving Edmonton. They’ve tweeted about it, built Reddit conspiracies about it, and probably prayed into their pillows at night hoping it he would leave and join their lacklustre organization. Every fanbase from Toronto to Vancouver to Calgary to whoever’s pretending to cheer for the Panthers this week convinced themselves that the best player on the planet was counting down the days until he could leave northern Alberta behind.

But you know what? He’s not going anywhere. Not only is Connor McDavid not leaving, but he signed an extension that doesn’t even give him a raise. For the next three years, Connor McDavid isn’t even the highest-paid player on his own team. In fact, this new deal is arguably one of the biggest bargain deals in the NHL. Tell me again how much he hates it here? Tell me again how he’s looking for the first ticket out of town?

Connor McDavid is the most dynamic hockey player alive, the human cheat code, the reason opposing goalies develop traumas before the puck has even dropped, and he just made it clear that Edmonton is where he wants to be and that he thinks he can win here. Despite the noise, despite people saying he wasn’t going to sign, No. 97 chose Edmonton as his home for the foreseeable future. And to everyone who thought he’d bolt the second his contract expired… how’s that working out for you?

Basically, from the moment the Golden Ticket flipped over, Oilers fans have had to listen to the same recycled “he deserves better” narrative from media and rival fanbases alike. Whether it’s after a tough loss in the playoffs or if one of his answers triggered some kind of body language investigation, the web detectives have been on the case for more than a decade, and this contract negotiation was as loud as it gets. It’s almost as if they think playing in a hockey-crazed market, in front of sold-out barns every night, alongside Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, and a legitimate Cup-contending roster is somehow a punishment.

Every time the Oilers lost a playoff series, the vultures circled. Every time the team hit a rough patch, the same tired takes rolled out:

No. It means he’s competitive. It means he wants to win. It means he’s wired differently, and thank god he is, because that’s exactly the type of player you build dynasties around. The Oilers are no longer a “rebuilding team.” This is a powerhouse built around two generational talents who chose to stay, and that ultimately made Connor’s decision to stay with the Oilers extremely logical right from the jump. Think about that for a second: Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl could’ve gone anywhere. Instead, they doubled down on Edmonton. They want to be here. They want to win here. They want to do it together.

That’s not a coincidence. That’s a belief.

McDavid doesn’t need to chase markets or endorsements or palm trees, even though he absolutely could have with his next contract. If McDavid decided to leave, he could have gone anywhere in the NHL, and teams would have been lining up for his services. They would have sold everything just for the chance to land the league’s best player, but instead, he’s staying exactly where he’s always been. This is about finishing what he started.

In his tenure, he’s seen the lows — the decade of darkness hangover, the heartbreak, back-to-back losses in the final — and he’s been here for the highs — the electric playoff runs, the comeback wins, the city lighting up like a religion every time he touches the puck. Being a part of something like that with some of your closest friends is a lure that was clearly too strong to give up on. Being an Oiler and winning was too important to give up, and a fine example of our captain realizing that the grass isn’t always greener.

This is a player who could have coasted somewhere easy. Instead, he chose the harder, more meaningful path: to take less money despite the pressures he was probably facing from the NHLPA to win in Edmonton. Because if he lifts that Stanley Cup in orange and blue? That’s not just another championship, that’s immortality.

Originally, my plan for this article was to dunk on everyone who’s been posting about McDavid leaving with screenshots of their tweets, but there were too many to manage. Honestly, if I included all of the receipts I’ve been keeping over the last year, this article would have turned into War and Peace, so instead of calling people out by name, I realized it’s enough to let them sit in their own disappointment.

The reactions across the NHL today have been priceless. You can practically hear keyboards breaking from Toronto to Calgary as the internet’s loudest Oilers haters scramble to pivot from “he’s leaving” to “well, he’ll regret it” or “well, he’ll be gone in three years.” Yeah, okay. Sure, there, buddy.

But from my side of the laptop screen, the best part about today’s news is that the hockey world is forced to realize something Oilers fans have known all along: You don’t walk away from a team that’s close to glory. You double down. Edmonton isn’t just keeping its superstar, but it was probably the only real option for him in the first place. McDavid signing this deal sends a message to the entire league: Edmonton is a place you want to win. Not escape from. That narrative the rest of the NHL built? Dead. Buried. Gone.

So go ahead and keep talking, hockey world. Keep coping, keep crying, keep trying to convince yourselves that he’ll eventually want out. Because while the rest of you are refreshing Twitter for people who agree with you, Connor McDavid is focused on finishing the job he came here to do. He’s not leaving, he’s leading. And if you thought Oilers fans were insufferable before, just wait until you see what happens when No. 97 hoists that Cup in Edmonton. Oh captain, my captain.