Connor McDavid signed a two-year, $25 million extension with the Edmonton Oilers, a deal that keeps the NHL star in Edmonton through the 2027-28 season. The contract carries a $12.5 million annual average value, below teammate Leon Draisaitl’s $14 million AAV.
The short length makes the Connor McDavid contract unusual for a player of his stature, but it also gives the Oilers a chance to keep their core intact after back-to-back defeats to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final. Edmonton fell in seven games in 2024, then lost again in 2025 in a heavier, more decisive beating.
Draisaitl signed an eight-year, $112 million extension in September 2024 and became the highest-paid player on the Oilers at $14 million per season. McDavid’s new deal lands below that figure, a structure that suggests the team had to make the numbers work around the rest of its core while still convincing its captain to stay.
The source says McDavid gave Edmonton another shot because he believed the core could get over the hump. That belief came with a clear expiration date. The same source said two years ago that McDavid wants to play in Los Angeles and that a move to Southern California was going to happen, even if it would be a logistical issue.
That is the tension now hanging over Edmonton’s biggest commitment. McDavid has bought the Oilers more time, but only through 2027-28, and the gap between what he signed and what he may still want leaves the team racing against its own clock.
