The Edmonton Oilers are well aware that they essentially have a two-year window to try and win the Stanley Cup while superstar captain Connor McDavid is under contract at an eye-popping discount of only $12.5 million per season.
McDavid agreed to a short contract extension last fall, keeping him in Edmonton through at least the end of the 2027-28 season. After they were eliminated in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the divisional rival Anaheim Ducks earlier this spring, the Oilers underwent several leadership changes behind the bench, while also making multiple notable changes to their roster.
However, until the Oilers are the last team standing, speculation will continue to grow on whether McDavid will continue his NHL career in northern Alberta beyond 2028, and one former NHL player-turned-Insider believes one potential destination sticks out above the rest.
NHL Insider Mike Rupp Is Linking Edmonton Oilers Captain Connor McDavid To The New York Rangers
According to NHL Insider Mike Rupp, who scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal for the New Jersey Devils in 2003, the New York Rangers are keeping close tabs on McDavid’s situation in Edmonton.
“I think we’re in a spot here where I think (GM) Chris Drury and management was looking towards this past summer,” Rupp said. “I think they were trying to position themselves in a way to go big, whatever that meant, the big, big-name players that were out there that we saw get absorbed by their current teams in a lot of situations.”
“I also think that they have always had an eye on Connor McDavid and that situation and monitoring that. So I think there’s probably a plan to do something big. It just hasn’t come to fruition up to this point.”
The Rangers are in a funk right now, having missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the last two seasons. Earlier this winter, after having fallen out of the postseason race, Drury traded star forward Artemi Panarin, who was a pending UFA, to the Los Angeles Kings.
The Rangers have also traded forward Vincent Trocheck to the Utah Mammoth, while also acquiring Pavel Dorofeyev from the Vegas Golden Knights and locking him up to a multi-year extension.
However, the Rangers have been known for their ability to lure major names to the Big Apple, including a pair of former Oilers icons in Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky. What are the chances that McDavid could be come the next Oilers captain to land in Manhattan?
Connor McDavid Signed A Two Year Contract Extension Last Fall
Upon signing his extension with the Oilers last fall, McDavid said that he had every intention of finishing what he started when he was taken by the club with the first overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.
“I obviously said I was committed to winning here and I meant that when I said that and two years makes a lot of sense,” McDavid said. “It gives us a chance to continue chasing down what we’ve been chasing down here with the core guys we have in here and we have a little bit of money to work with too. I think the deal makes sense to both sides.
“It gives us a chance to extend our window here in Edmonton. [My dog] Lenny is not going to go hungry with that money, so we’ll be fine. It’s about winning and that’s always what I preached and I think this deal gives both sides what we’re looking for.”
Insider Names Standout Team To Watch For Oilers’ Captain Connor McDavid