Speculation: Elephant in the room: Is McDavid going to be the biggest UFA ever in 2026?

[TheDoldrums]

What team will have 14+ in cap space to sign him, and is better than Edmonton?

Lots of teams. How good are the Oilers without McDavid? That is the proper comparison to the other teams, who don't have McDavid.

Two years is a long time to make cap space. For one layup, the Minnesota Wild have over $14 million in dead cap currently so even with their expected raises they would still be able to carve out a sufficient amount.

 

[Fatass]

I think McDavid and his wife will have a bigger impact on his decision than Drai. He will have leverage and if he doesn’t have a Cup by then I imagine he will be hyper focused on where he can get a couple. He will be thinking about his legacy, not about the best man at his wedding

Exactly! McDavid is clearly one of the games all time greats. His comments are from the lens of one of the players from that very small group of the best. He knows for his legacy to cement him into that top tier of the greatest he needs his name on the Cup. He will become a UFA if he doesn’t see the Oilers as the club he can cement his legacy with.

 

[Fatass]

What team will have 14+ in cap space to sign him, and is better than Edmonton?

McDavid will make a lot of teams better than Edmonton if he goes to them. Imagine him on the Leafs. Tavares will be gone. They could certainly make room for McDavid. Matthews, Marner, Nylander. I’d say that would be better than what the Oilers could provide as a supporting cast.

 

[EquivalentStay]

If he and Drai are content with never winning the cup then stay with Edmonton

They can go cry into their 100 million dollars together, they're so hard done by

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

He's going to stay in Edmonton. What contending team is going to have the cap to sign a free agent like McDavid?

 

[RC51]

i expect he will be the first ever nhl player to get the max. 17.5 mil per year for 8 years but that will lead the oil to never win a cup

 

[MHO]

I can't read McDavid's mind but if I'm him, I sure wouldn't resign if I want to win cups. Yeah there's something to winning cups with the team that drafted you and for a team in Canada which hasn't happened in over 30 years now but other than Drasaitl and Bouchard, their core is over 30. Other than Savoie, they have almost no prospects worth being excited about and also no first round draft pick this year. Edmonton also isn't the greatest city to attract free agents and that Nurse contract isn't going away anytime soon.

So if I'm him, I'd at least wait to hit the open market and see what is out there. If Edmonton presents the best offer/situation for him, then great he can always resign there after testing the waters.

Either way, Stan Bowman has his work cut out for him....

 

[34]

McDavid….Toronto boy born and raised. I am not convinced he is staying in Edmonton.

 

[Apex Predator]

If McDavid chooses to leave Edmonton it isn’t about money. Oilers will offer him blank cheque. I would love to see him leave because it’s exciting to see a player of his caliber as a free agent.

 

[HairyKneel]

He's a bit of a cancer though. We don't know what he may be thinking. Seems pretty selfish.

 

[Slats432]

McDavid….Toronto boy born and raised. I am not convinced he is staying in Edmonton.

0% chance. You can always dream though. Also, his best friend signed the max in Edmonton. So if you can find some odds on BET365 that would pay you well if he re-signed, I would bet if I were you.

 

[sting101]

Foegele.....7-6-13 +9
Holloway... 8-8-16 +7
McLoed.....6-6-12 +4
Broberg.....2-10-12 +7
Ceci...........1-5-6 -4

24-35-59 +23
vs
9-20-29 -12

Skinner......5-5-10 -9
Arvidsson..2-3-5 +2
Henrique...2-7-9 +4
Emberson..0-2-2 -5
Stecher......0-3-3 -4

Another incompetent off season for management.

At some point you take notice and move on

 

[34]

0% chance. You can always dream though. Also, his best friend signed the max in Edmonton. So if you can find some odds on BET365 that would pay you well if he re-signed, I would bet if I were you.

You never know.

 

[BlueSeal]

He's an Oiler forever.

 

[CanadasTeam99]

Foegele.....7-6-13 +9
Holloway... 8-8-16 +7
McLoed.....6-6-12 +4
Broberg.....2-10-12 +7
Ceci...........1-5-6 -4

24-35-59 +23
vs
9-20-29 -12

Skinner......5-5-10 -9
Arvidsson..2-3-5 +2
Henrique...2-7-9 +4
Emberson..0-2-2 -5
Stecher......0-3-3 -4

Another incompetent off season for management.

At some point you take notice and move on

Believe it or not, they aren't really missed. Holloway would have been nice though. Edmonton isn;t sexy on D, but theyw ent into last game allowing the least HDC in all situations a game. Funny coming from you. Your team has been an absolute clownshow for so many years now lol. Always some drama there, guys wanting a xbox break to "reset", Bruce, etc etc. One cinderella year in the past 15sh.

 

[BlueSeal]

Believe it or not, they aren't really missed. Holloway would have been nice though. Edmonton isn;t sexy on D, but theyw ent into last game allowing the least HDC in all situations a game. Funny coming from you. Your team has been an absolute clownshow for so many years now lol. Always some drama there, guys wanting a xbox break to "reset", Bruce, etc etc. One cinderella year in the past 15sh.

Saying this on a thread where the titled player vanished in their own Game 7 after the Oilers charged back into the series and were setup for the kill, lost and won the Conn Smythe.

Which one is worse?

 

[GreeningOil]

Lots of teams. How good are the Oilers without McDavid? That is the proper comparison to the other teams, who don't have McDavid.

Two years is a long time to make cap space. For one layup, the Minnesota Wild have over $14 million in dead cap currently so even with their expected raises they would still be able to carve out a sufficient amount.

Yeah Minnesota ain’t it

Slafkovsky - McDavid - Caufield
Demidov - Suzuki - Laine

What trade brings all of those guys to Edmonton?

 

[Maple Leaf]

0% chance. You can always dream though. Also, his best friend signed the max in Edmonton. So if you can find some odds on BET365 that would pay you well if he re-signed, I would bet if I were you.

0% chance is what they said about tavares

 

[Bouboumaster]

What trade brings all of those guys to Edmonton?

By 2026 McDavid realises that his best shot at the Cup is the Habs, if he didn't win it already

 

[HairyKneel]

0% chance is what they said about tavares

Just looking at it from a Geographical standpoint..... why would anyone stay in Edmonton if they could go elsewhere? If I was stuck in Yellowknife and had to take a 15 % pay cut to move to Victoria, Vancouver or Kelowna, I think I'd jump at the chance.

 

[NVious]

He's a bit of a cancer though. We don't know what he may be thinking. Seems pretty selfish.

"If Georgiev costs me one more of my f***ing parlays I'm finna snap (on God no cap)"

 

[Score08]

He’ll be the bruins captain

 

[Adam Warlock]

Itd be great for the NHL if he hit Free Agency...but itll never happen. Star players rarely do...and when they do its like Tavares or Pietrangelo situations where they have predetermined destinations. Never drama or excitement like the Juan Soto situation right now.

 

[BlueSeal]

0% chance is what they said about tavares

How has that worked out for the Leafs?

A stat sheet tells only one side of the story. 11M for a player who has zero NHL hardware. It's a cautionary tale, if anything else.

 

[Rudy Russo]

He's going to stay in Edmonton. What contending team is going to have the cap to sign a free agent like McDavid?

Pittsburgh:
Lemieux
Jagr
Crosby
McDavid