This season will be McDavid’s 11th with Edmonton since it chose him with the No. 1 pick at the 2015 NHL Draft. He has 1,082 points (361 goals, 721 assists) in 712 regular-season games and 150 points (44 goals, 106 assists) in 96 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
“All options are on the table, really,” McDavid said. “We’re going through it. I don’t have a preference either way. I want to the group to be as focused and dialed in and ready to roll from Day 1 as much as possible, and we don’t need any distractions.
“I’m going to take my time with it and that’s it.”
McDavid has won the Hart Trophy as the League’s most valuable player three times (2017, 2020-21, 2022-23), the Ted Lindsay Award as most outstanding player as voted on by the NHLPA four times (2016-17, 2017-18, 2020-21, 2022-23) and the Art Ross Trophy as leading scorer five times (2016-17, 2017-18, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23). He also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs in 2024 despite Edmonton losing to Florida in the Cup Final in seven games.
“It’s not like we’re planning out five years from now that we’re a team that might be able to win the Cup,” Bowman said. “Our focus last year was to win; our focus this year was to win so this doesn’t change anything. My conversations with Connor is that he’s curious, he wants to know what’s coming and what the thoughts are and how I see the team and how we can get better.
“It’s all good discussions and good dialogue back and forth. He’s a very smart guy in addition to being an amazing player. He’s got a lot of good ideas and that’s why it’s fun to talk hockey with him.”
The Oilers got another significant deal done Monday, signing defenseman Jake Walman to a seven-year, $49 million contract ($7 million AAV). That contract also begins next season.
NHL.com staff writer Derek Van Diest contributed to this report
