There’s no doubt in Oilers general manager Stan Bowman’s mind that Connor McDavid will be in Edmonton well into the future.
With the franchise cornerstone and one of the best players of all time eligible for a contract extension when July 1st strikes this summer, many have speculated about what a potential extension would look like. McDavid, 28, is undoubtedly due for a raise from the $12.5-million he’s made annually since his current deal came into effect in 2019-20.
But that’s not what Bowman is concerned about right now — and for that fact, he doesn’t seem concerned at all.
“We have a great relationship with Judd Moldaver, his agent,” said Bowman on Sportsnet’s After Hours program Saturday night. “I’ve known Jed for a long time and he does a great job for his clients.
“I’m getting to know Connor right now really well too, and everything I said about Leon you can probably repeat that for Connor. He’s an incredible leader, incredible person, a great teammate. He loves to cheer for the guys and pump everyone up and be very supportive as a leader.
“He’s the most important player we have here, so that is priority number one. We’ll get to that this summer. Now’s probably not the time to be talking about that, but we all know Connor is going to be here and that we’re going to make it happen.”
That’s some strong words from Bowman, who much like everyone else in the organization, surely feels good about McDavid’s chances of staying in Edmonton for the long-term. The Oilers finally made it to the Stanley Cup Finals last year, albeit seeing it end in disappointing fashion, and the fact that Draisaitl inked his long-term extension last summer only solidified the fact that McDavid wasn’t going anywhere. No. 29’s public lobbying only reaffirmed that.
Edmonton saw a quick turnaround of literal days between the end of their Cup run and the start of free agency, and Draisaitl’s extension somewhat fell on the back burner. The team, of course, didn’t have a general manager in place until late July, when Bowman was named the full-time man on July 24th.
His first order of business was to deal with the offer sheets to Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg, before getting deep into the negotiations around Draisaitl’s eight-year, $14-million AAV deal that was made official on Sept. 3.
“Jed and I will have to get going on that on time there, but I’m confident we will,” Bowman said with a smile.
The Oilers would surely like to have an idea of where their salary cap will sit in the coming years when his extension would kick in, given that next season will be the last of McDavid’s aforementioned eight year deal. His current deal accounted for 15.72 percent of the salary cap when it was signed, and with the NHL appearing to have a $104-million upper limit when the 2026-27 season rolls around, that same percentage would see him earn $16.35-million per year, a nearly $4-million raise — and a well deserving one at that.
You can listen to Bowman’s full After Hours appearance below.
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.
