McDavid wants a Stanley Cup, not money, with new contract extension

Connor McDavid is doing everything he can to win a Stanley Cup, even if it means giving up millions of dollars to do so. 

On Monday, the 28-year-old superstar signed a two-year contract extension with the Edmonton Oilers at $12.5 million average annual value, keeping him well below the recent record-setting AAV of Minnesota Wild left winger Kiril Kaprizov at $17 million, and teammate Leon Draisaitl’s $14 million AAV. 

It’s all part of the bigger picture for McDavid, who signs at a number low enough to allow Edmonton to continue building a Stanley Cup contender around him, which will also include defenseman Jake Walman, who signed for seven years at $7 million AAV on Monday.

On Monday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton dove into McDavid’s short-term commitment to the Oilers. 

Yaremchuk: McDavid is not the only extension of the day. The Oilers have agreed to terms with Jake Walman on a new deal as well. He was their big deadline addition last year, played some really important minutes and scored some important goals in the playoffs, but a seven-year deal for Walman with the Edmonton Oilers. So, two big extensions, it’s a busy day in Edmonton.

Hutton: This is good for hockey and for the Oilers. This is a team we want to see there, and again, I’m not going to judge this team on their star, right? With Florida and Edmonton, two teams that have been to the Stanley Cup final, who have been to that dance, they’re going to try to peak at the right time, but this is a nice thing to get done.

Yaeremchuk: It’s a fill-it-out contract for McDavid. I’ve said that the whole time. The Oilers hand him a blank piece of paper and say, ‘write down the years and write down the term – we’re truly good with whatever.’ The debate for McDavid, as a guy who talks about how important a winner is, does he back it up with the contract?

Hutton: For higher-end guys, too, when you’re a McDavid or you’re Sidney Crosby, you actually make so much extra money off the rink too, Auston Matthews in Toronto. 

So sometimes I think, as fans, when we look at these contracts, we just look at that value, and that’s what they make. There is so much extra money that they can make up in other areas, too. McDavid is not going to be hurting for cash; what he’s hurting for is a Stanley Cup, and he’s going to give Edmonton the best chance to do that. 

You can catch the full segment and the rest of Monday’s Daily Faceoff LIVE episode here…