The Edmonton Oilers and superstar Connor McDavid have agreed on a two-year, $25 million contract extension.
The Oilers weren’t done there, though, the team also signed defenceman Jake Walman to a seven-year, $49 million extension on Monday. The blueliner will carry a cap hit of $7 million on his new deal.
McDavid clearly left money on the table in his extension, which comes less than a week after Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov reset the market with his record-setting eight-year, $136 million contract ($17M AAV) last week.
In fact, McDavid will continue to carry the same $12.5 million cap hit he does on his current his eight-year, $100 million deal signed in 2017. With many pending unrestricted and restricted free agents still to sign, McDavid is currently slated to be the league’s fifth highest paid player next season.
Kaprizov, Oilers teammate Leon Draisaitl ($14M), Toronto Maple Leafs centre Auston Matthews ($13.25M) and Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon ($12.6M) sit ahead of McDavid on that list.
“Connor’s commitment to our team and our city is surpassed only by his singular focus on bringing a Stanley Cup back to fans of the Edmonton Oilers,” general manager Stan Bowman said in a statement.
Walman staying put
Walman, 29, was acquired by the Oilers prior to last year’s deadline from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for forward Carl Berglund and a draft pick.
The 6-foot-1 left-shot defenceman recorded seven goals and 40 points in 65 games split between the Sharks and Oilers while averaging 22:46 of ice time.
He added two goals, 10 points and averaged 20:10 of ice time during the Oilers’ run to the Stanley Cup Final before they were eliminated by the Florida Panthers in six games.
Walman is entering the final season of a three-year, $10.2 million deal that carries a cap hit of $3.4 million. He was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Drafted 82nd overall by the St. Louis Blues in 2014, Walman has 32 goals and 91 points in 267 career games split between the Blues, Detroit Red Wings, Sharks, and Oilers
McDavid ends speculation… for now
The 28-year-old superstar’s future had been a source of speculation since he said in June he wanted to see a commitment to winning before opening talks just days after the Oilers fell to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight year.
Reaching a deal comes less than a week after Bowman said Wednesday it’s not a guarantee that McDavid would enter the season as a pending unrestricted free agent, despite all signs seemingly pointing that way at the time.
“I don’t have expectations either way on that,” Bowman said last week of when asked if it’s clear McDavid will reach next week without a new deal in place. “I think we’re continuing to talk to [McDavid’s agent Judd Moldaver] regularly, I talk to him almost every day and had good chats with Connor all along the way too. I don’t like to make predictions, we’ll see where it goes.”
McDavid is a generational talent with three Hart Trophies who has led the league in scoring in five of his 10 seasons.
McDavid recorded 26 goals and 100 points in 67 games with the Oilers last season. He added seven goals and 33 points in 22 playoff games.
The team opens its 2025-26 season Wednesday, hosting the Calgary Flames.
