There has been plenty made about the particular window that the Edmonton Oilers have entered and what could potentially come in its aftermath. Superstar captain Connor McDavid is entering the first season of a two-year extension he agreed to last fall.
This means that the Oilers essentially have this season and next to win the Stanley Cup, or McDavid could very well choose to leave in free agency and seek what he feels is a better opportunity to win a title elsewhere.
According to NHL Hall of Famer and former Stanley Cup-winning Oilers captain Wayne Gretzky, McDavid’s future in Edmonton will likely last beyond 2028.
Wayne Gretzky Makes Key Prediction On Connor McDavid’s Future With The Edmonton Oilers
While making an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Gretzky noted how badly McDavid wants to earn a Stanley Cup ring,
“Nobody wants to win a championship worse than he does,” Gretzky said of McDavid. “Hopefully, his time will come.”
“I know it’s not from a lack of effort or dedication or love of the sport,” Gretzky said. “I hope one day he gets that opportunity to lift the Stanley Cup.”
Gretzky then said that he’d like to see him with one of the NHL’s pair of Florida-based teams, considering that’s where he lives now.
“Well, I live in Florida. I’d like to see him there,” Gretzky said. “But people in Edmonton don’t want him to leave.”
Then came the kicker – Gretzky said that he doesn’t foresee a split between the Oilers and McDavid.
“I think he’s a mainstay in Edmonton,” Gretzky said. “He likes it there. The organization is a good organization. They’ve got a chance every year to win. That’s all he wants. I don’t see Connor leaving Edmonton.”
Oilers GM Stan Bowman Explained McDavid’s AAV Helped The Club
Not long after McDavid signed his extension last fall, Oilers GM Stan Bowman indicated that the tremendous discount he took would enable the club to fill other needs.
“We’re going to have opportunities that we otherwise wouldn’t have had because Connor wanted the AAV that he did,” Bowman said via The Athletic.
Bowman continued:
“It’s obvious what he wants. He wants to win,” Bowman said. “His actions have shown that.
“If I’m a player thinking of coming to Edmonton for next year, it gets me pretty excited knowing how committed the captain is.”
Wayne Gretzky Makes Key Prediction on Connor McDavid’s Future