Chris Johnston doesn’t think the Edmonton Oilers have signed Connor McDavid to a contract extension before the start of the season
TSN: Ryan Rishaug and Chris Johnston discuss the Connor McDavid contract situation as training camp and the start of the regular season nears.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Rishaug: “And to be clear, this hasn’t been a salvo back and forth, this term and this dollars in one direction and a counter and back. That’s not what’s happened here. There have been discussions between the organization, McDavid and his agents, about big picture. What this is going to look like moving forward, the team, the organization, organization and such.
But the meat and potatoes of term and dollars, that’s something that McDavid and his agent are working through, and at a certain point they’ll get into that with the Oilers.
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You and I are both working on this story. We’re both, you know, following this closely. CJ, what does your gut tell you on where this could potentially land? My instinct tells me that, you know, I don’t know that an eight-year deal is the most likely option here. I think maybe somewhere in the range of four years or so is where this potentially could land.
Based on what we heard . It kind of throws everything into a bit of flux. But as a reporter coming is, what did your gut tell you?”
Johnston: “Well, certainly I share that assumption. If he signs in Edmonton, I don’t think it’ll be a full-term deal. And look, he’s told us what he wants, right? I mean, there’s not a lot of mystery here. He wants a chance to win again and again, was part of what he said in June to you guys in Edmonton.
You know, to me, I think that the fact he’s not in a hurry to sign now tells you there’s at least some concern about, will that be the case? And look, every team has unknowns. I mean, you look at any team’s cap sheet for 26-27, there’s going to be unsigned players. There’s going to be cap space. You don’t know what the team’s going to allocate it with.
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You know, in a, in a vacuum, I would say it says to me, he wants to see more of what the Oilers are going to do into the year. But, you know, the important caveat was, what he mentioned, do they need another distraction? Will this, in fact, be a distraction? I think that’s what he’s working through.
So if you had to pin me down, my guess is the season will start without him signing an extension, but you know I’m not saying 100% that’s where this is going.”
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