By Daniel Nugent-Bowman, Chris Johnston and Pierre LeBrun
The Edmonton Oilers accomplished the most important bit of business of their offseason, and of the foreseeable future, as captain Connor McDavid signed a contract extension with the club on Monday. The deal is for two years and carries an annual average value of $12.5 million.
McDavid’s extension will kick in at the start of the 2026-27 campaign, keeping the 28-year-old megastar under team control for three seasons. He has one more season remaining on the eight-year, $12.5 million AAV deal that he signed on July 5, 2017, a year before his entry-level contract was set to expire.
Our journey here continues 🧡💙 pic.twitter.com/7YytCvszz2
— Connor McDavid (@cmcdavid97) October 6, 2025
McDavid had already won the Hart and Art Ross trophies once by the time he signed his last contract. Since then, he’s cemented himself as one of the greatest players in NHL history. He’s won the Hart three times, the Art Ross five times, the Rocket Richard Trophy in 2022-23 and the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2024.
Last season, he became the fourth youngest and fourth fastest player in NHL history to reach 1,000 points at 27 years, 306 days and 659 games. He’s up to 1,082 points in 712 games in his career. He also has 150 points in 96 playoff contests, which puts him third behind Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux at 1.53 points per game.
The Oilers could ill-afford to lose McDavid after this coming season. Given his resume and status as the sport’s best player, McDavid could have become the first player in the salary-cap era to sign for the individual maximum of 20 percent regardless of the term. There wouldn’t have been a word of criticism.
Instead, he took a discount, just like he did a little more than eight years ago. However, he didn’t sign another max-term, eight-year extension, something good friend and running mate Leon Draisaitl did last summer.
This extension represents something of a softer commitment and a compromise for McDavid. It’s a show of loyalty and good faith to his teammates, the organization, and to former longtime agent Jeff Jackson, who became the team’s hockey operations CEO in August 2023. He has roots in the city, and his wife, Lauren, opened a restaurant in downtown Edmonton called Bar Trove earlier this year.
However, he made it clear at his year-end availability that winning is his top priority, something he noted earlier in the season as well. The Oilers have yet to win a championship despite making back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances. They lack top prospects, and the core members of the roster are aging.
With McDavid in tow, there should be little concern about the team’s ability to contend, but he isn’t locking himself in for nearly a decade in case things go sideways.
This story will be updated.
(Photo: Katharine Lotze / Getty Images)
