'Trade Him Now': McDavid Contract Debate Sparks Fan Meltdown, Leafs Nation Keeping Tabs

The Connor McDavid contract storyline is one that is going to have all eyes on it throughout the entire season up until he puts pen to paper, be that with the Oilers or somewhere else next July.

He's going to get paid an absurd amount of money, and 31 other teams are going to be fighting tooth and nail just for the chance to present an offer to him. The unquestioned greatest player in the world, McDavid seemed focused on wining in Edmonton amidst the rumors.

However, his commitment to the team was not as strong as fans had hoped for, and they were none too pleased.

Edmonton Journal reporter David Staples posted a story to his X account regarding McDavid's decision to wait out signing an extension before the season, and start the year as a pending free agent, and the fan response was stunningly negative.

There are several fans too who are questioning whether or not he would be heading home to Toronto, and are basically pleading with their captain to think of anywhere else though he obviously has a no movement clause; so even if he's not in danger of leaving via Scotty Bowman, people are getting concerned.

It's safe to say that the Oilers faithful are furious at their captain's lack of negotiations towards a deal, and are slowly starting to turn on him.

That's something familiar to Leafs fans isn't it? The whole Mitch Marner debacle with his supposed harassment and extra security detail due to fan negativity drove him out of town, and if McDavid can't bring a title, and he's going to hold out all year...it's going to repeat history.

Fans are fickle at times, let's be honest. If you make one mistake you're a villain for life, and it's often very hard to earn back that trust in the fans once it's lost. Edmonton has had two generational talents reach back to back Finals and lose, and at what point does it become too much for fans and McDavid?

There's a human aspect to this as well, and while the Oilers captain has earned an immense amount of goodwill and respect from the Edmonton community, that same group can just as easily run him out of town with another Cup Finals loss or a drawn out contract process.

If the reaction all season is that of "Selfish Connor" while he's given everything to the team, he's going to have to feel disheartened and might have second thoughts about the fans true intentions: Do they just want to win for the sake of winning, or do they want McDavid to lead them?

From the sounds of social media, fans don't really care either way as long as they have success and eve the notion of trading him sounded absurd six months ago but now is a nigh-impossible but potential outcome.

It would be the end to something incredibly special in Edmonton, something Toronto knows all too well.