How will the Oilers spend the money saved from McDavid’s contract?
With the Edmonton Oilers having locked up their captain for at least a couple of more years, many are speculating what the team’s going to do with the money they have left.
On Monday, the team signed star forward Connor McDavid to a two-year contract extension. The deal carries an AAV of $12.5 million, far below what many expected he would, or could, have signed for. That’s going to give general manager Stan Bowman some cap room to play with in order to attract more talent.
The question is – how will the money be allocated? There’s always been the question mark between the pipes, and obviously, there’s always the desire for another top-pair defenseman.
On Tuesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, The Sheet host Jeff Marek joined Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton to discuss what the Oilers might do with some increased funds.
Jeff Marek: Is it – Connor McDavid wants his Jari Kurri? Is it – Connor McDavid wants his Ilya Sorokin? Does he want another top-four defenseman? Is it all of the above? Yes…Connor McDavid didn’t leave money on the table just to fill out the bottom six or your bottom pair or your backup netminder. Connor McDavid left money on the table, so his manager, as the salary cap continues to grow, has room to maneuver here and maybe, just maybe, get him his own Jari Kurri.
I talked to someone who’s quite close to him, because we’re all trying to figure out what the lesson is here. What should we all take away from this benevolent move by Connor McDavid? Like, unprecedented, really. Players have taken haircuts, but not like this. This is a whole different category. And I said, ‘What’s the lesson you think we should all take away from Connor McDavid signing a $25 million two-year deal?’ And he said, ‘Here’s the lesson that no one’s talking about that you should talk more about…when Connor McDavid makes up his mind, There’s no changing his mind. So that is the lesson that none of you guys are talking about.’ This is what Conor McDavid wants.
Connor McDavid wants to win the Stanley Cup…This is Connor McDavid’s ruthless pursuit of the Stanley Cup. If it means he has to leave some money on the table, so be it.
You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…