Next Season Could Be Connor McDavid’s Last in Edmonton – The Hockey Writers – Edmonton Oilers

It’s Stanley Cup or bust in Edmonton next season, and that could also mean the final season for Connor McDavid in an Edmonton Oilers uniform. For a franchise that has experienced its share of heartache with the trades of legends such as Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier, the reality is McDavid could soon join that list. Considering how disappointing the 2025-26 season ended, I wouldn’t be surprised if McDavid didn’t finish out the full two years of his new contract if the Oilers come up short in their pursuit of the Stanley Cup next season.

After the Oilers 5-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on April 30, McDavid mentioned, “We were an average team all year. You know, an average team with high expectations, you’re going to be disappointed. You know, we just never found it.”

The pressure is on Oilers general manager Stan Bowman to reconstruct the Oilers into a Stanley Cup contender this offseason, and it may be too big a hill to climb. Bowman’s biggest challenge will be finding McDavid a legitimate starting goalie. The Oilers currently have $7.975 million tied up in goaltending next season in Tristan Jarry and former Oilers goalie Jack Campbell (buyout). And they still need to find a starter they can trust.

McDavid Needs to Rest and Recover to Be Ready For Next Season

McDavid and the Oilers have played 370 regular season and playoff games over the past four seasons, which is the most in the NHL over that span. Add in the pressure and wear and tear of the 4 Nations Face-Off and the Olympic Winter Games, and it’s no wonder McDavid looked tired at the end of the series with the Ducks. He was also playing injured, having rolled his ankle in Game 2, and it looked like he was nursing a hand or wrist injury that he sustained late in the season.

Oilers Will Have a Busy Offseason

The Oilers have a long list of players that they need to sign this offseason. Unrestricted free agents (UFAs) such as Connor Murphy, Jason Dickinson, and Kasperi Kapanen should be a priority for Bowman to re-sign. He should also look at offering a new contract to restricted free agent (RFA) Colton Dach. Most importantly, Bowman needs to find McDavid a solid goalie. During the McDavid era, the Oilers have had 20 different goalies signed with the team. Why they never secured a top-flight goaltender in all that time is truly baffling.

The Stanley Cup Window Is Down to One Year in Edmonton

When McDavid signed his team-friendly two-year, $12.5 million deal last October, he was putting the team on notice that they needed to win now. If the Oilers don’t win the Stanley Cup in the 2026-27 season, I think you can consider that to be McDavid’s last season in Edmonton. There’s no way they can take the risk of losing McDavid for nothing like the Calgary Flames did when the late Johnny Gaudreau signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2022.

There are a lot of obstacles in the way of McDavid winning his first Stanley Cup with the Oilers. You can be sure he’s going to be taking a lot of time this offseason to plan out his future. If Oilers ownership and management can’t get things figured out in McDavid’s 12th season, then they’re never going to get it right. The only solution might be to trade McDavid like they did Gretzky in 1988 and start all over again. That would be a sad day for fans all across Oil Country.