Draisaitl hopes McDavid will remain with Oilers 'for as long as possible'

EDMONTON -- Leon Draisaitl wants Connor McDavid to remain a teammate with the Edmonton Oilers beyond this season, but he knows the decision is out of his hands.

Draisaitl is heading into the first season of an eight-year, $112 million contract ($14 million average annual value) he signed with Edmonton on Sept. 3, 2024, and would like to have McDavid by his side the whole time.

“It’s not really for me to comment on, of course I want him here for as long as possible,” Draisaitl said following an informal skate Thursday. “I want to do it with him, but it’s about him and his family and they’re going to make their decision based on what’s best for them.”

McDavid is entering the last season of an eight-year, $100 million contract ($12.5 million AAV) he signed with the Oilers on July 5, 2017, and can become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

When Draisaitl signed his new contract, the assumption among many Oilers fans was McDavid would follow this year. The two forwards have been teammates for the past 10 seasons and helped the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Final the past two seasons, losing to the Florida Panthers on both occasions.

Edmonton is expected to make another run at a championship this season with Draisaitl, McDavid and the core of the team returning. Yet there is uncertainty regarding what will happen beyond this season, which has led to some anxiety among Oilers fans.

“I know he loves it here, I know he feels at home here, but there’s a lot of things that play into a decision like that,” Draisaitl said. “Hopefully something gets reported soon.”

McDavid was eligible to sign a new contract with the Oilers on July 1, but said he wanted to take his time deciding his future. Edmonton opens training camp on Sept. 17 and plays its first regular-season game Oct. 8, when it hosts the Calgary Flames.

Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner said McDavid’s next contract has yet to become a topic of conversation among the players.

“He’s in his own situation and we let him do his own thing,” Skinner said. “It’s not really in our spot to lead him one way or the other. It’s certainly not mine. We’re just trying to be as supportive as possible and [let him] do this thing this year.”

McDavid, who was selected No. 1 in the 2015 NHL Draft, is heading into his 11th season with the Oilers and is still in search of his first Stanley Cup championship. It’s one of the few things left for the 28-year-old captain to win in Edmonton.

McDavid has had eight seasons with at least 100 points, won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player three times (2016-17, 2020-21, 2022-23), the Ted Lindsay Award, given to the most outstanding player as selected by his peers, four times (2016-17, 2017-18, 2020-21, 2022-23), the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL points leader five times (2016-17, 2017-18, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23) and the Rocket Richard Trophy as the top goal-scorer once (2022-23).

McDavid has also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs (2024), and last season became the fourth-fastest player to reach 1,000 points (659 games), behind Wayne Gretzky (424), Mario Lemieux (513) and Mike Bossy (656).

“It’s completely fine,” Oilers forward Zach Hyman said of McDavid’s contract status while attending the Hockey Canada Olympic Teams Orientation Camp in Calgary last week. “Everybody makes a big deal out of it, but he’s an Oiler. It’s not like he’s going anywhere right now. I don’t envision him ever leaving, but on his end, it’s like, what’s the rush?”

McDavid said his top priority in signing a new contract was the opportunity to win the Stanley Cup. He also said he wanted to win it in Edmonton.

“There's no rush. If I was him, I’d be taking my time too,” Hyman said. “There’s really no rush, so I don’t think anybody should be too worried about it. Just play, watch the games, enjoy being a fan and all that stuff takes care of itself.”