Connor McDavid remains unsigned beyond the 2025–26 season, but NHL insider Frank Seravalli says the odds of the Edmonton Oilers captain leaving are minimal.
Even so, there is always a chance, if tiny, that McDavid ends up going to market and entering free agency next July. McDavid, 28, is entering the final year of his eight-year, $100 million extension and has yet to exchange contract numbers with the Oilers.
Seravalli, addressing that scenario during Tuesday's "Insider Notebook" for Bleacher Report, acknowledged that a handful of big-market franchises would be ready to pursue him if contract talks with the Oilers stalled long enough to make free agency a realistic possibility.
Seravalli said both sides are in no rush, with no signs of panic. The insider firmly believes McDavid will remain with the Oilers past the end of his current deal next summer.
“He’s not going anywhere," Seravalli said. "I think there’s a very small chance, maybe very small is overstating it. I think there’s a small chance that we get to a month from now and the camp’s about to open and McDavid still doesn’t have a deal done. That’s when the conversation begins to percolate a lot more,” Seravalli said.
Only Still Seen As Favorites to Keep Connor McDavid
Should that small chance play out, Seravalli believes only the NHL’s biggest markets could realistically make a play for the league’s top player.
The insider specifically named the Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Chicago Blackhawks as the type of franchises capable of making a competitive pitch.
“Just think big market. Think LA, New York, Toronto, Chicago... like, big, big markets that would have a player of that ilk," Seravalli said. "Could you imagine dropping Connor McDavid into Manhattan with the Rangers? Or Toronto, going home?
"Those are the types of things that I’m sure hockey fans around the league are thinking about—getting the best player in the world into a big market.”
Despite the intrigue such a scenario would generate, Seravalli stressed that McDavid will dictate the timing of any deal and should be expected to remain in Edmonton.
Oilers Respecting Connor McDavid’s Timing
Oilers general manager Stan Bowman provided an "official" update on where things stand between McDavid and Edmonton on Aug. 5, saying that extension talks remain in the early stages.
“I’ve had really good conversations with Judd Moldaver [McDavid’s agent] since the season ended,” Bowman said. “I’ve tried to give Connor his space, and I think that it’s important. A lot of this is respecting the athlete and their timeline.
“(McDavid is) a huge part of everything we do here,” Bowman said. “I don’t have a timeline update, but I do expect to have some conversations with them soon and hopefully get that wrapped up.”
McDavid has spent his full career in Edmonton since the Oilers made him the No. 1 pick of the 2015 NHL draft. Since entering the league in time for the 2015-16 season, McDavid has scored 1,082 points in 712 regular-season games, winning three Hart Memorial Trophy awards as the league's MVP while making back-to-back finals, both ending in losses, in the past two seasons.
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