Report: Connor McDavid will open Oilers training camp without contract extension
Connor McDavid will not have a contract extension in place before the Edmonton Oilers open training camp, according a report from The Athletic’s Chris Johnston, citing league sources.
New, for @TheAthletic: What I’m hearing about Connor McDavid and the Oilers as he’s set to enter camp without an extension. 🔗⬇️https://t.co/KJXUaaeI95https://t.co/KJXUaaeI95
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) September 16, 2025
“The lack of an extension does not speak to any disconnect on terms or structure,” Johnston wrote in his story. “There has remained a consistent and cordial dialogue between Oilers management, McDavid and agent Judd Moldaver throughout the summer, and McDavid has been given a respectable amount of space while weighing the biggest professional decision of his life.”
Johnston adds that, per league sources, McDavid’s biggest point of contention is Edmonton’s aging roster.
“He believes (the Oilers) can contend again in 2025-26 but (the roster) doesn’t look to be constructed to sustain a championship level over the long term,” Johnston wrote.
McDavid’s eight-year, $12.5 million AAV contract extension signed in July 2017 will expire at the end of the 2025-26 season.
The 28-year-old center is coming off a 2024-25 campaign where he scored 26 goals and added 74 assists for 100 points in 67 regular-season games. He also recorded seven goals and 26 assists for 33 points in 22 Stanley Cup Playoff games, leading the Oilers to a second consecutive Final appearance.
Through 10 seasons, McDavid has 361 goals and 721 assists for 1,082 points in 712 regular-season games. He also has 44 goals and 106 assists for 150 points in 96 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
McDavid, taken No. 1 overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, has been everything advertised out of junior, and so much more. Through 10 seasons, McDavid has won the Art Ross Trophy five times, the Ted Lindsay Award four times, the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy once and the Hart Trophy three times.
His best statistical season came in 2022-23, scoring 64 goals and 89 assists for 153 points, becoming the first player since Lemieux in 1995-96 to break the 150-point mark in a single season. Only three players in history had scored more points in a season than McDavid: Lemieux, Gretzky and Steve Yzerman.