McDavid signs 2-year, $25 million contract with Oilers

Connor McDavid signed a two-year, $25 million contract with the Edmonton Oilers on Monday. It has an average annual value of $12.5 million and begins with the 2026-27 season.

The 28-year-old center is entering the last of an eight-year, $100 million contract ($12.5 million AAV) he signed July 5, 2017. He led the Oilers to their second straight appearance in the Stanley Cup Final last season, where they again lost to the Florida Panthers. He tied teammate Leon Draisaitl for the NHL scoring lead in the postseason with 33 points (seven goals, 26 assists) in 22 games.

“Our journey here continues,” McDavid said on X before the deal was announced.

Draisaitl is set to play the first of an eight-year, $112 million contract ($14 million AAV) he signed on Sept. 3, 2024.

“Connor’s commitment to our team and our city is surpassed only by his singular focus on bringing a Stanley Cup back to fans of the Edmonton Oilers,” Oilers general manager Stan Bowman said.

McDavid had been eligible to sign a new contract since July 1, but on Aug. 27 he reiterated that he wouldn’t rush things and his No. 1 goal was to win.

“I said at the end of June [that] I had every intention to take my time with it and I still feel the same way,” McDavid said at the Hockey Canada Orientation Camp for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. “I’ll take my time and go through everything. I have every intention to win in Edmonton. It’s my only focus, maybe next to winning a gold medal with Canada.

“I’ll take my time going through it with my family, my agent and everybody involved. We’re going through it slowly.”

This season will be McDavid’s 11th with Edmonton since it chose him with the No. 1 pick at the 2015 NHL Draft. He has 1,082 points (361 goals, 721 assists) in 712 regular-season games and 150 points (44 goals, 106 assists) in 96 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

“All options are on the table, really,” McDavid said. “We’re going through it. I don’t have a preference either way. I want to the group to be as focused and dialed in and ready to roll from Day 1 as much as possible, and we don’t need any distractions.

“I’m going to take my time with it and that’s it.”

McDavid has won the Hart Trophy as the League’s most valuable player three times (2017, 2020-21, 2022-23), the Ted Lindsay Award as most outstanding player as voted on by the NHLPA four times (2016-17, 2017-18, 2020-21, 2022-23) and the Art Ross Trophy as leading scorer five times (2016-17, 2017-18, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23). He also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs in 2024 despite Edmonton losing to Florida in the Cup Final in seven games.

Jeff Jackson, McDavid’s former agent who is now Oilers CEO and president of hockey, and general manager Stan Bowman will be negotiating on behalf of Edmonton.

“Connor’s the best player in the League, the most important player in the League, he’s our captain, he’s our leader and certainly he’s a No. 1 priority,” Edmonton general manager Stan Bowman said July 20. “I think listening to Connor’s take on things, he’s earned the right for us to be respectful of his time.”