McDavid signs 2-year, $25M extension with Oilers

Star halfway Connor McDavid volition stay with the Edmonton Oilers, signing a two-year declaration hold with an mean yearly worth of $12.5 million, the squad announced Monday.

McDavid made his determination Monday morning, an NHL root told ESPN, and the declaration talks were completed wrong hours.

He was acceptable to go an unrestricted escaped cause aft this play -- his 11th with the Oilers -- aft signing an eight-year, $100 cardinal woody successful July 2017. The imaginable availability of the subordinate considered the champion successful the satellite sparked speculation astir his future, but remaining successful Edmonton was ever considered the likeliest outcome.

The 28-year-old halfway is considered by galore to beryllium the champion hockey subordinate successful the world. He has 1,082 points successful 712 vocation games, with 361 goals. He's won 5 scoring titles and 3 Hart trophies arsenic regular-season MVP. He besides became the 2nd skater ever to triumph the Conn Smythe Trophy arsenic playoff MVP successful a losing effort successful 2024.

McDavid has led the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Final successful 2 consecutive seasons, but they've mislaid to the Florida Panthers some times.

McDavid took his clip successful making a declaration decision, sources told ESPN, arsenic helium evaluated the contention model for the Oilers. Fellow superstar Leon Draisaitl, 29, signed an eight-year hold successful Sept. 2024. Other players similar forwards Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman, arsenic good arsenic defensemen Mattias Ekholm and Darnell Nurse, are each implicit 30 years old. There were besides lingering questions astir the team's goaltending, arguably its biggest weakness successful those erstwhile 2 Stanley Cup Final losses.

Many anticipated McDavid would instrumentality a short-term woody with the Oilers to assistance them stay successful their contention model for the adjacent 2 seasons, portion perchance inactive becoming the astir coveted escaped cause successful NHL past during summertime 2028. There were discussions astir a three-year word for McDavid during talks with the Oilers earlier yet landing connected 2 years.

It was besides expected that McDavid would instrumentality a team-friendly declaration -- obscurity adjacent the grounds precocious of Kirill Kaprizov's caller woody with the Minnesota Wild, which acceptable NHL records for wide worth ($136 million) and AAV ($17 million) connected an eight-year term. Center Leon Draisaitl signed an hold with a $14 cardinal AAV past year.