Connor McDavid wants to stay in Edmonton for the long haul according to Bob Stauffer and it could be for as long as seven years if you are to believe the insider.
McDavid signed a two-year deal last summer to everyone's surprise, and it was seen as him giving the Oilers a couple years to figure it out. An early playoff exit doesn't help their case, but according to Bob Stauffer that won't matter because McDavid is sticking around Edmonton for the long haul - seven years in fact.
McDavid, 29, had yet another spectacular season for the Oilers, putting up 138 points in all 82 games and winning the Art Ross for the sixth time in his career. That pushes his career totals to 1,220 points in 794 games; an astounding number that is only going to keep growing and growing.
But with the Oilers not really figuring it out this year, and potentially bringing in controversial head coach Mike Babcock to sort things then that's certainly not going to give McDavid a great feeling about staying around.
Connor McDavid is going to stick around for the next seven years according to Bob Stauffer
However, according to Oilers insider Bob Stauffer, it's not really going to matter in the grand scheme of things.
Stauffer was a guest on FAN 590's The FAN Hockey Show and boldly proclaimed that not only is McDavid going to stick around, but he's going to be around for a long, long time:
I expect the next contract Connor McDavid signs is for 7 years, and may I remind you the deal is, that's the max term going forward with the adjustment in the CBA in 2027. So, you know what; you empower the players to involve themselves in key decisions, you get greater conviction.
The players have never been a bigger part of the decision making until now, and from ownership to management to players, everyone is on board with Mike Babcock.
-
It's a little bit surprising that all of a sudden Babcock is getting a clean slate but it seems like if the Oilers are desperate to keep McDavid, then there's genuinely a chance this is their last-ditch effort to keep him around. Hire a very successful and winning coach to finally give him the Cup.
McDavid's talent isn't questionable, but his potential contract length certainly is
But seven years is an absurd gamble on both the Oilers and McDavid's parts. First, for McDavid, is he really ready to commit to a team that has yet to win the Cup in his time, and were snuffed out pretty easily in the chances he did have?
Seven years puts him at 36 years old, and while he's the best player in the league - he does have injury concerns.
Plus, what if Babcock isn't the solution? McDavid could be sitting for the next half decade with no way out of a losing situation and Edmonton is never going to be able to send his contract elsewhere.
You have to think his next deal will eclipse $17 or $18-million and if you stretch that out for seven years, that's $126-million committed to one player, and a combined $224-million potentially between just McDavid and Drasaitl.
Now factor in that they have a ton of money already invested in Evan Bouchard, and Jake Walman and suddenly the entire cap is going to be thrown on its head, and whatever growth comes year after year is barely going to help.
It does not sound feasible for the Oilers to keep McDavid on that length of a deal unless he takes a pay cut, and the world's greatest player should not even start to think about that.
Maybe Babcock can convince him he's the real deal and he does end up staying. But unless Stauffer knows something we don't, it would be a bit shortsighted for McDavid to stick around if it's just going to be the same old, same old.
Will Connor McDavid stay in Edmonton for seven years?
Also read on Hockey Patrol :
Calle Jarnkrok's time in Toronto appears to be coming to an end