🚨 ALARMING! “100 per cent” that Connor McDavid Is Leaving Edmonton Oilers – top insiders report
What are the odds that Connor McDavid will sign a new contract with the Edmonton Oilers?
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“100 per cent,” says two of the NHL’s top insiders, the Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli and Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now.
In an interview on Stauffer’s show, Seravalli gave his odds.
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“100 per cent,” he said. “Not 99. 100.”
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“That makes for boring radio,” Stauffer said. “I have it at 100 per cent as well.”
Servalli said he was not surprised to see some bitterness in McDavid at his press conference on Thursday, where McDavid talked about the loss to Florida and his coming contract negotiations.
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“What you’re hearing is the disappointment of teams that had 15 and 14 wins in the Stanley Cup playoffs,” Seravalli said of McDavid and the Oilers. “He’s a guy who has seen and been through a lot in his time in Edmonton, and when I think he talks about banging his head against the wall, that’s not necessarily an indictment of this management group. That goes back to the mistakes that have been made around him building this team since (former Oilers GM, 2015-2019) Peter Chiarelli was running it. That plus his own personal playoff run that he is grappling with, which was, for the most part, really good.”
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Servalli continued. “But two things are true. One, had the Oilers won the Cup, Connor McDavid would not have been the Conn Smythe Trophy winner. And two, not that that’s what he’s after, but it speaks to what the scenario was like. And two, which is Game 6 and Game7 last year and Game 6 this year. Connor McDavid didn’t have a point, so the anger, disappointment that you hear from him is partially him flogging himself.”
On the Oilers off-season overall, Servalli said the Oilers now have more clarity on Stuart Skinner in net, and might well be looking to move out Viktor Arvidsson, signed last summer by interim GM Jeff Jackson.
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“Look to be fair and honest, like (Oilers GM) Stan Bowman has some things to undo from last summer… Viktor Arvidsson is going to be one of them. They’re going to have to figure out something with Evander Kane. I would think that there’s a formula to just figure out both (Evan) Bouchard and McDavid and set those aside and be done with it. And then go about trying to utilize what you have left to find difference makers, if you can. And I think the goaltending one is going to be the hardest part, because this market is more thin than it has been, right?
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Stauffer mentioned that McDavid is represented by agent Judd Moldaver, who also represents Toronto’s star player Auston Matthews, who signed a four year deal most recently in Toronto, not an eight-year deal. Stauffer suggested that McDavid might well do the same in Edmonton. Seravalli said McDavid would more likely go eight years, simply to avoid the hassle of another contract negotation down the road.
“I don’t think it’s a slam dunk he does eight (years),” Stauffer said. “I do think it’s a slam dunk he re-signs.”
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Seravalli said McDavid would more likely go eight years, simply to avoid the hassle of another contract negotiation down the road.
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“I just look at Connor McDavid and think that’s a guy who doesn’t want to go through this again in four years. Because the truth of the matter is, if he signs for eight and he decides two, three or four years into this eight-year deal that Edmonton isn’t it for him, and he’s losing the vision or not seeing a path to win, all he has to do is raise his hand and he’s out. No one’s gonna bull or try and lock down the best player in the world. It’s just never gonna happen.”
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On Evan Bouchard, Seravalli also saw a long-term deal coming. “I would think that if the Oilers are ripping the band-aid off, you might as well buy as many years as you can.”
When it comes to moving out Arvidsson, who has a no movement clause in the final year of a deal that pays him $4.0 million per year, Seravalli said a trade is mutually beneficial to the player and the Oilers, who will get his cap space.
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“He’s not going to get in their way because he wants to have a good contract here, and he needs more opportunity.”
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My take
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1. Seravalli and Stauffer are as plugged in and credible as they come when it comes to NHL insiders. They don’t make up garbage. If they are reporting McDavid will sign a new contract in Edmonton, he will sign a new contract in Edmonton.
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Sorry Leafs, Canucks, Blues, Rangers, Devils, Stars, and Kings fans. He’s not coming to your city, except to battle your team.
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2. I liked Arvidsson’s play this year, which puts me in a minority in Edmonton. I thought he was effective but had poor puck luck when it came to putting up points. He was hampered by injuries this year but that’s been the on-going issue with him, that he’s banged up too often. He’s a good bet for a team looking for a second line winger.
3. As for Kane, I hope the Oilers don’t move him. He had a good playoffs, not great, but good. He’s strong as a damn mountain with his Gordie Howe build. He’s a rare player who offers both skill and ferocious aggression and intimidation. He, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins formed a killer line in the playoffs when they were all healthy. Yes, Edmonton can use his $5.1 million in cap space, but they can also use a player like Kane.
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