The Edmonton Oilers‘ summer of unanswered questions is expected to extend even further. With Connor McDavid yet to re-sign with the organization in Alberta, drama simply won’t fade. Now, reports hint it could be costly for the rest of the locker room.
McDavid is the best player in the NHL. Albeit a big task pending in winning the Stanley Cup, he stands a peck above the rest of the league. Ever since his early days in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), he’s mastered the art of playing under pressure.
Now, with an extension yet to be signed, Edmonton is set to enter chaos mode if its captain remains unsigned during the season. It had always been a nightmarish scenario for the Oilers. Now, it’s trending to materialize. McDavid might be built to withstand the pressure that comes with any contract year in the NHL, but it could have an adverse effect on his teammates.
“We’ve seen plenty of players affected by uncertainty, but I don’t think it will impact McDavid. He’s too laser-focused. The bigger question is if it will become a distraction to the players and organization. As long as he’s unsigned, it’s a massive story,” Elliotte Friedman wrote on Sportsnet.
Connor McDavid during Hockey Canada’s 2025 National Teams Orientation Camp in Calgary, Alberta.
“You can’t stop the questions, the commentary and the noise in a passionate Canadian market. The Oilers are a strong, mature team. You think they can handle it, but there’s going to be a lot to ignore.”
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NHL News: Oilers reportedly still have work to do to convince Connor McDavid amid extension drama
Not his first rodeo
The bar has always been set high for the Oilers’ captain, yet he’s managed to clear it time and again. Obviously, he still hasn’t done so when it comes to the Stanley Cup, but that should weigh as much on McDavid as on the rest of the team.
However, if McDavid does enter the 2025-26 NHL season unsigned for the future, then a lethal cocktail might be mixed together in Edmonton. On the one hand, the pressure will be on McDavid to prove the noise isn’t getting to him.
Far from ideal
The rest of the Oilers will find themselves in a complex situation, too. Not only will they be playing for glory and a shot at the Stanley Cup, they could be playing for McDavid’s future, as well. If they plummet, it could rule the end of the captain’s stay in town.
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McDavid shut down trade rumors with a blunt statement, but it could all change if the upcoming campaign doesn’t go as planned. And even if the prospect of him leaving next summer is unrealistic, for how much term will he sign? That seems to be the biggest mystery in Edmonton, and one that won’t be resolved until the captain puts pen to paper.
