Connor McDavid has to tell Oilers if he wants out in the next month

After the exit interview by Oilers captain Connor McDavid on Thursday, you know that was not what you want to hear if you’re an Edmonton fan. McDavid admitted that he will take some time to digest losing his second consecutive Stanley Cup Final before turning his attention to a potential contract extension.

“It’s only been a couple days since the season ended,” McDavid said. “Take some time to regroup, talk to my agent a little bit and family and all that. Make some decisions whenever that time comes. There’s no rush. No rush on anything like that.”

He added: “If I feel like there’s a good window to win here over and over again, then signing is no problem. …

McDavid is eligible to sign an extension as of July 1 before playing out the final season of an eight-year, $100-million contract in 2025-26. He would otherwise become the most coveted free agent of the 2026 class if he doesn’t sign a deal before then…

But according to many pundits and insiders, the Oilers simply cannot be that patient with McDavid. According to former NHLer and Spittin Chiclets podcast co-host Ryan Whitney (and huge Oilers’ fan), Edmonton needs to know what McDavid wants to do and they must know if he wants out in the next month.

“If he doesn’t win a Stanley Cup, like, things are a lot different. Money’s not different, fame is not different, but in his heart, it will be different. If he were to go on and leave the Edmoton Oilers, being a former player, I really, I wouldn’t hate him. Like you have the right, you really do. I would crush me. It would crush Oilers fans. I would not be somebody who hates him. I would end up being pretty f—ing disgusted, though, if he doesn’t tell them because he knows. He knows if he’s going to leave probably in the next month or so, right? If he knows he has to tell them like, ‘hey I’m not, I’m out.’ And they have to trade him and try to get something.”

Whitney added: “I never felt like he was going to leave and then seeing him last night (Game 6), like f***, maybe this guy is just like ‘I’m not, I’m not going to be able to do it here and I gotta get a Cup.’

“So this next month is going to be a wild ride.”

McDavid is the face of the franchise and fans are hoping to see him re-sign, just like close friend and star temmate Leon Draisaitl did last summer when he inked a contract worth $14M AAV through 2032-33. The Oilers enter this off-season with $11.96 million in cap space to play with, per Puck Pedia, and 19 players already under contract for next season. Edmonton must also get a massive extension done with restricted free agent blue-liner Evan Bouchard.

However, if the Oilers do not get a guarantee that McDavid is extending, they cannot lose him for nothing. The trade would be gigantic, but if he’s not going to extend in Edmonton, you have to move him.

Yeah, this will be an intense one to follow.