One of the biggest questions on the minds of all 32 fan bases is what's next for Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid.
McDavid is eligible to sign an extension on his current contract as early as July 1. Former Edmonton Oiler and "Spittin' Chiclets" podcast host Ryan Whitney believes McDavid already knows his plans.
Superstar, greatest player of his generation, greatest player of all time — these are all superlatives thrown at the Edmonton Oilers captain and once-in-a-generation talent.
McDavid's stats tell most of the story: 1,082 points in only 712 games, on-pace to finish as a top-10 all-time scorer in an era of the NHL where scoring leaguewide is lower thanks to structural changes in defensive systems and in net. He has evolved from an 18-year-old phenom into a complete player who plays in all-situations while still managing to wow fans with his inhuman combination of speed and skill.
He's already won the Hart Memorial Trophy for league MVP three times, the Art Ross Trophy for most points in a season five times and selected four times as the league's most outstanding player by NHL players.
The Stanley Cup eludes McDavid. This latest disappointment, a 4-2 series loss to Florida for the second season in a row, comes as McDavid finishes the seventh year of an eight-year, $100 million contract he signed coming off his entry-level deal. He's almost certainly going to set a new benchmark for the salary-cap era. The only question is if that will be in Edmonton or somewhere else.
Is it realistic to think that the Oilers would allow a second generational player to get away from them? Probably not. The Oilers have repeatedly shown a willingness to spend in this era. They made McDavid the highest-paid player in the league seven years ago. This is almost certainly not about money. McDavid can likely name his number in Edmonton.
This is about one thing: Can the Edmonton Oilers win the Stanley Cup? There are a couple of interpretations of the last few seasons for the Oilers. The first: The Oilers have in back-to-back years run headfirst into their specific kryptonite in the Florida Panthers. The Panthers are a brilliantly run organization with arguably the best pro scouting department on the continent.
They have depth, built-in structural advantages thanks to their tax laws and an organization that attracts top talent willing to take slightly less money to play there. McDavid also has gone head-to-head with a player uniquely qualified to neutralize him in Florida captain Alex Barkov — the best two-way center in the NHL.
There's an element of "ah shucks" bad luck to this explanation — one that won't be particularly satisfying if you're an Oilers fan but would reassure you in the organization's ability to sell McDavid on signing another long-term deal.
The second interpretation is less generous: McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard make up a superstar core that has carried a roster that otherwise doesn't look much better than your average NHL team.
It's probably a little bit of both, but it also starts in net. The Oilers goaltending isn't the only reason they haven't won the Stanley Cup in the McDavid era, but at best it's simply not an asset and at worst it's a clear disadvantage. Stuart Skinner has a career .893 save percentage in the playoffs, well below Sergei Bobrovsky's .915 save percentage over these last three playoff runs in Florida.
McDavid has proved he and Draisaitl and Bouchard can play with virtually any cast of characters on-ice. The goaltending has simply been unacceptable.
The fate of their franchise superstar's story in Edmonton and avoiding a repeat of Wayne Gretzky depends on it.
