<p>When the Edmonton Oilers re-signed forward <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/01/14/leon-draisaitl-sweeps-mid-season-nhl-award-voting-for-hart-trophy/">Leon Draisaitl</a> during the 2024 offseason, most fans assumed that this all but confirmed that captain Connor McDavid would do the same as soon as he became eligible.</p>
<p></p>
<p>After all, <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/01/06/lauren-kyle-wife-of-oilers-connor-mcdavid-teases-the-opening-of-a-bar-in-edmonton/">he has set his roots in Edmonton</a>, has a lot of people he is comfortable with within the organization, and the team is committed to winning the Stanley Cup. Combine that with the team coming off a Finals run that ended one win short of ultimate glory and players being more willing to play for the Oilers, it seems like all but confirmed that McDavid is going to put pen to paper once he is eligible in the summer.</p>
<p>Not so fast says <em>ESPN&#8217;s</em> Greg Wyshynski, who made an appearance on The Sheet with Jeff Marek Tuesday and talked about McDavid&#8217;s future with the Oilers. He believes that how Edmonton does in the playoffs will be the ultimate factor in whether or not the captain stays.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Could Connor McDavid leave Edmonton at the end of his contract?<a href="https://twitter.com/wyshynski?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@wyshynski</a> explained to <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffMarek?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JeffMarek</a> why he doesn’t believe it’s a guarantee that the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetsGoOilers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetsGoOilers</a> superstar remains with the team when his contract expires👀</p>
<p>Presented by <a href="https://twitter.com/FanDuelCanada?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FanDuelCanada</a> <a href="https://t.co/PPodhegfyw">pic.twitter.com/PPodhegfyw</a></p>
<p>&mdash; The Sheet with Jeff Marek (@thesheethockey) <a href="https://twitter.com/thesheethockey/status/1879318169086730387?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<blockquote><p> &#8221;Why did we all assume that Connor is going to stay when Leon signed?  I think we all assumed it because we assumed why the hell would Leon stay if he didn&#8217;t have some level of assurance from Connor that he was going to stay.  And I will make some informed speculation that I don&#8217;t think that&#8217;s the case.  I think the next couple of playoff seasons for the Oilers, whilst Connor McDavid remains under contract, are very, very important. And I don&#8217;t necessarily believe anymore that Leon signing is a harbinger for Connor signing.  I don&#8217;t think it is as guaranteed cut and dry, paint the mural that Connor&#8217;s going to stay in Edmonton. I just don&#8217;t anymore.</p>
<p>You look at a team like Boston, you look at a team like New York, you look at kind of how those lineups are built.  You look at kind of how those contracts they have on the books are looking in a couple of seasons.  You say to yourself, &#8216;There might be some pretty interesting franchises that&#8217;ll be ready to make a run at the best player in the world if he doesn&#8217;t have pen to paper in Edmonton.&#8217;  Now, I will caveat this by saying that I still believe he&#8217;s going to stay. He&#8217;s got roots down there. He&#8217;s got a house. We&#8217;ve all seen the house in magazines. But I feel like we all kind of exhaled and said, Connor&#8217;s an Oiler for life when Leon signed, and I don&#8217;t believe that&#8217;s the case anymore.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>During <a href="https://youtu.be/WzfkPaa50VI?si=tKJbVy9aSiKcmnA3&amp;t=1910" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thursday&#8217;s edition of <em>DFO Rundown</em>,</a> Frank Seravalli and Jason Gregor poured cold water on the idea due to McDavid&#8217;s wife opening a bar in Edmonton, the team coming off a Game 7 loss in the Final and currently amid another strong season. Seravalli even went as far as to describe it as &#8220;clickbaity bullshit.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;The premise was &#8216;If the Oilers don&#8217;t have success this year.&#8217; What? They got to the cup final Game 7 last year. What are we talking about here?&#8221; Seravalli said.</p>
<p>While it is easy to laugh off these concerns that there is any semblance of doubt that a McDavid extension can get done as Seravalli and Gregor did, Wyshynski makes a fair point that how things go in the playoffs will play a major factor in his decision. The captain has won a lot of individual hardware throughout his career and has had plenty of highlight reel moments that many can only dream of possessing. But the one thing that continues to elude him (apart from a gold medal at the Olympics) is the Stanley Cup.</p>
<p>As easy as it is to think that he will be around forever, McDavid just turned 28 and he is already at a decade in the NHL. He is not going to get any younger and he probably knows as much as anyone that there is no guarantee of how many more legitimate chances he will get at hoisting the Cup. Edmonton came about as close as you can get to immortality without reaching it, but was that their best shot and they blew it? It remains to be seen.</p>
<p>McDavid is about as competitive as they come, and he will want to be in a place that gives him the best chance to win. Right now, that could be where he currently calls home, but it is far from certain that it will remain so by the time his contract expires in 2026. Meaning it will be up to Jeff Jackson and Stan Bowman to put together a competitive roster that has their window open for a long time to show McDavid that he would be foolish to go elsewhere.</p>
<p>Whether you agree or not with Wyshynski&#8217;s assessment of the situation is up to you, but it is nonetheless important to remember that McDavid will want to be where he feels he has the best chance to win a Cup. Oilers&#8217; management needs to prove that they are just that and make it a no-brainer decision. Otherwise, teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, or New York Rangers among others will be licking their chops to convince the captain that his best path to victory lies outside of Edmonton.</p>
<p>You can listen to the full episode of the DFO Rundown here.</p>
<div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe loading="lazy" title="The Deep Rooted Problems In Pittsburgh &amp; The Blue Jackets Remarkable Run" width="1424" height="801" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WzfkPaa50VI?start=1910&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<h2><strong>ARTICLE PRESENTED BY bet365</strong></h2>
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When the Edmonton Oilers re-signed forward <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/01/14/leon-draisaitl-sweeps-mid-season-nhl-award-voting-for-hart-trophy/">Leon Draisaitl</a> during the 2024 offseason, most fans assumed that this all but confirmed that captain Connor McDavid would do the same as soon as he became eligible.



After all, <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/01/06/lauren-kyle-wife-of-oilers-connor-mcdavid-teases-the-opening-of-a-bar-in-edmonton/">he has set his roots in Edmonton</a>, has a lot of people he is comfortable with within the organization, and the team is committed to winning the Stanley Cup. Combine that with the team coming off a Finals run that ended one win short of ultimate glory and players being more willing to play for the Oilers, it seems like all but confirmed that McDavid is going to put pen to paper once he is eligible in the summer.

Not so fast says <em>ESPN's</em> Greg Wyshynski, who made an appearance on The Sheet with Jeff Marek Tuesday and talked about McDavid's future with the Oilers. He believes that how Edmonton does in the playoffs will be the ultimate factor in whether or not the captain stays.
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https://twitter.com/thesheethockey/status/1879318169086730387?s=46
<blockquote> "Why did we all assume that Connor is going to stay when Leon signed?  I think we all assumed it because we assumed why the hell would Leon stay if he didn't have some level of assurance from Connor that he was going to stay.  And I will make some informed speculation that I don't think that's the case.  I think the next couple of playoff seasons for the Oilers, whilst Connor McDavid remains under contract, are very, very important. And I don't necessarily believe anymore that Leon signing is a harbinger for Connor signing.  I don't think it is as guaranteed cut and dry, paint the mural that Connor's going to stay in Edmonton. I just don't anymore.

You look at a team like Boston, you look at a team like New York, you look at kind of how those lineups are built.  You look at kind of how those contracts they have on the books are looking in a couple of seasons.  You say to yourself, 'There might be some pretty interesting franchises that'll be ready to make a run at the best player in the world if he doesn't have pen to paper in Edmonton.'  Now, I will caveat this by saying that I still believe he's going to stay. He's got roots down there. He's got a house. We've all seen the house in magazines. But I feel like we all kind of exhaled and said, Connor's an Oiler for life when Leon signed, and I don't believe that's the case anymore."</blockquote>
During <a href="https://youtu.be/WzfkPaa50VI?si=tKJbVy9aSiKcmnA3&amp;t=1910" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thursday's edition of <em>DFO Rundown</em>,</a> Frank Seravalli and Jason Gregor poured cold water on the idea due to McDavid's wife opening a bar in Edmonton, the team coming off a Game 7 loss in the Final and currently amid another strong season. Seravalli even went as far as to describe it as "clickbaity bullshit."

"The premise was 'If the Oilers don't have success this year.' What? They got to the cup final Game 7 last year. What are we talking about here?" Seravalli said.

While it is easy to laugh off these concerns that there is any semblance of doubt that a McDavid extension can get done as Seravalli and Gregor did, Wyshynski makes a fair point that how things go in the playoffs will play a major factor in his decision. The captain has won a lot of individual hardware throughout his career and has had plenty of highlight reel moments that many can only dream of possessing. But the one thing that continues to elude him (apart from a gold medal at the Olympics) is the Stanley Cup.

As easy as it is to think that he will be around forever, McDavid just turned 28 and he is already at a decade in the NHL. He is not going to get any younger and he probably knows as much as anyone that there is no guarantee of how many more legitimate chances he will get at hoisting the Cup. Edmonton came about as close as you can get to immortality without reaching it, but was that their best shot and they blew it? It remains to be seen.

McDavid is about as competitive as they come, and he will want to be in a place that gives him the best chance to win. Right now, that could be where he currently calls home, but it is far from certain that it will remain so by the time his contract expires in 2026. Meaning it will be up to Jeff Jackson and Stan Bowman to put together a competitive roster that has their window open for a long time to show McDavid that he would be foolish to go elsewhere.

Whether you agree or not with Wyshynski's assessment of the situation is up to you, but it is nonetheless important to remember that McDavid will want to be where he feels he has the best chance to win a Cup. Oilers' management needs to prove that they are just that and make it a no-brainer decision. Otherwise, teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, or New York Rangers among others will be licking their chops to convince the captain that his best path to victory lies outside of Edmonton.

You can listen to the full episode of the DFO Rundown here.

https://youtu.be/WzfkPaa50VI?si=tKJbVy9aSiKcmnA3&amp;t=1910
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