Connor McDavid did not want a raise. He wants to win the Stanley Cup.
McDavid signed his long-awaited contract extension with the Edmonton Oilers on Monday, taking far less money than projected for the best hockey player in the world in the aim of pursuing his first championship.
The three-time MVP and the only NHL organization he has played with finalized a two-year, $25 million contract on the eve of the start of the season. McDavid will count $12.5 million against the cap from 2026-28, the same average salary he has had since 2019.
McDavid will not even be the highest-paid player on his own team, settling for more than $1 million a year less than longtime running mate Leon Draisaitl.
“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,” general manager Stan Bowman said.
McDavid’s deal does not come close to approaching the richest contract in league history agreed to last week when Minnesota signed Kirill Kaprizov for $136 million over eight years. Kaprizov’s annual salary will be $17 million when his record-setting contract kicks in.
Instead, McDavid took a much shorter-term deal, which keeps the heat on ownership and the front office led by former agent Jeff Jackson and Bowman to put together a roster that can win it all. Edmonton has reached the final each of the past two years before losing to Florida.
“He’s a guy of integrity and a team guy to do this, in recognizing that this is his best chance and the best place to win right now,” retired goaltender-turned-TNT analyst Brian Boucher said. “It puts an awful lot of pressure on Stan Bowman, on the players in that locker room. The time is ticking, and I think the expected outcome is that there’s at least one championship in the next three years — if not three. I think that’s what they’re looking at.”
McDavid on social media posted the message, “Our journey here continues” with orange and blue hearts and photos from his first decade in Edmonton.
Now 28 and set to be 31 when this contract expires, McDavid has scored more than anyone else in the league since being drafted with the first pick in 2015 and debuting a few months later. His 1,082 points in 712 regular-season games are 125 more than the next-closest player, Draisaitl.
This contract pays McDavid much less than Draisaitl, who just over a year ago signed for $112 million over eight seasons. When McDavid signed his current contract in 2017, he accounted for 15.3% of the cap, and he’ll be at just 11% in 2027-28 as revenues and the upper limit are skyrocketing.
“McDavid could’ve named his price,” retired NHL player Scottie Upshall posted on X. “Instead, he chose legacy over anything. Taking less to keep this Oilers core intact tells you all you need to know — he wants a Stanley Cup in Edmonton more than any personal award. Only the greats would do this, and that (is) why he is 1 of them.”
Not going for a raise is reminiscent of what Sidney Crosby, McDavid’s idol, has done on every contract since his entry-level deal. Crosby has maintained an average salary of $8.7 million — a nod to his jersey No. 87 — since 2008, the season he won the Stanley Cup for the first of three times in his career.
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