Connor McDavid and his contract situation continue to raise questions about the NHL. He has now spoken to the media twice, and most have no clarification about what stops him from signing an extension with the Edmonton Oilers, except that he takes his time and goes through his trial.
One of the big questions that come from this week’s media with McDavid is what he hopes to discover. What does it stop him that he does not necessarily see now, but must be reassured?
McDavid said that his confidence in the team and management in Edmonton has never been higher. He is confident that this year’s club will compete. What seems to be the problem is what will happen next season and the season afterwards, although McDavid admitted that nobody has a crystal ball. He could stay in Edmonton and they could win two or three times. He could leave and the team he is going to get never a pinch at the Stanley Cup final. He is smart enough to know how unpredictable the NHL is.
So, if he likes this team and he believes in management, what should he see to feel comfortable? That is a good question, and someone can seem to put his finger on his finger.
McDavid needs something to tell him that he has the chance to win
Although the captain is insisting that he is committed to winning in Edmonton, he has made it clear that he will not be hurried in an extension. His expression “all options are on the table” have fans and analysts who think that everything that signed him without a new deal in the season. McDavid even mentioned ‘zero -term’ in an interview on Friday, which essentially means that he has contracted his contract. He will not be bothered by the distractions that his contract causes, which suggests that if players cannot address the media, they are in the wrong cases.
Until that thing, whatever it is, touches him like a lightning bolt and tells him which direction he should go, McDavid will wait. He is at ease. It is clear that he is looking for a sign with which he can know for a year, three years, five years, eight … is the right decision for him and his family.
After 10 seasons with the oilers and two straight trips to the Stanley Cup final, he knows the organization inside and out. It is not Edmonton that he doubts. McDavid comes from a $ 100 million contract. It is the money, even if he admits that it matters that he has paid honestly for the value he entails. This is about the oilers (or another team) who remain a competition. Something has to happen that tells him that it is more likely that he is a competition with the oilers than anywhere else. Until that happens, it is likely that he remains flexible with his dedication to everyone.
Have the oilers been built for sustainable success in the next three to five years? He has to see it. If he even thinks to leave at a distance, every team that wants to acquire him will also have to prove that to him. He does not jump ship for the money or the better living conditions. He will not leave to go home or for nostalgic reasons. He would leave for winning, and he will only do this if the team he goes is better positioned to compete than Edmonton.
For a player who has already cemented his status as the best in the world, the only acceptable outcome is a Stanley Cup. Losing successive finals at the point has eaten him that his decision about a contract cannot bake him in a corner or a situation in which he will not have a chance.
What he should see is not clear. And how long it takes before he sees it will be a big question.
Next: McDavid’s “no term” remark means that oilers are confronted with an uncomfortable reality
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