Potential trade package revealed if McDavid won’t re-sign in Edmonton

Last week, in his exit interview, Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid admited he will take some time to accept losing his second consecutive Stanley Cup Final before turning his attention to a potential contract extension. His comments have gotten fans nervous about the potential of a future outside of Edmonton, but general manager Stan Bowman remains patient.

For now.

When you bring up the possibility that McDavid will prefer to test free agency with a stronger Stanley Cup contender in the summer of 2026, Allan Mitchell of the Athletic immediately presents the perfect trade offer for the Oilers to get the most out of a monster McDavid trade:

“If the Oilers are forced to make a deal that sees a McDavid exit, the gap between fan expectations and reality will be extreme. Fans might look for a package that includes impact futures along with multiple first-round selections, but in reality, potential suitors would probably be unwilling to part with more than one top-end youth. And, any team acquiring McDavid will land first-round picks around Nos. 29-32.”

He then adds what the trade should look like, reminding Oilers’ fans of that historic Wayne Gretzky transaction in 1988. He even takes the Los Angeles Kings again as a landing spot for the captain and explains what it would take today:

“When the Gretzky trade/sale went down, Edmonton received first-round draft picks in 1989, 1991 and 1993. The club also acquired Jimmy Carson, who turned 20 in the summer of 1988. He was a talented but one-dimensional scorer, coming off a 55-goal season with Los Angeles. Martin Gelinas, a highly regarded winger who played for Edmonton in 1988-89 at age 18, was also included. The haul was impressive, but no one on the hockey planet argued Edmonton received 100 cents on the dollar in the deal.”

Plain and simple, Mitchell compares it with today’s players in LA: “In a trade with Los Angeles, the Oilers might expect to receive the Kings’ second-best offensive youngster (the equivalent of Carson). That would be Clarke, a problematic solution since he’s a young puck mover and the Oilers already have Evan Bouchard. Having said that, on pure talent, Clarke would be a satisfactory centrepiece to the deal.”

Mitchell however reiterates the task at hand in Edmonton: improving the current Oilers’ roster to convince McDavid to stay and re-sign.

“It’s another reason Edmonton’s ownership and management must make signing another contract as attractive as possible for McDavid.”

This summer, though it won’t involve a McDavid extension, is incredibly important for the Oilers if they want to keep the captain in Edmonton.