Connor McDavid inking three-year contract with Oilers among Daily Faceoff’s bold predictions for 2025-26 season

Last month, rapper Cardi B dropped her long-awaited sophomore album “Am I the Drama?” and it may be a question the Edmonton Oilers are left reflecting on.

Every NHL season brings high drama, and in many ways, the Oilers find themselves at the centre of it all this year. Between back-to-back Stanley Cup Final losses, Connor McDavid’s contract negotiations, and the upcoming Winter Olympics, the year promises storylines aplenty in Edmonton, for better or for worse.

On Friday, Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin dove into it all with 25 bold predictions for the upcoming season. Leading it off, Larkin gave his two cents on how he sees the McDavid negotiation playing out:

Uncertain about his future but still believing the Edmonton Oilers can win a Stanley Cup soon, Connor McDavid re-signs…for three years.

McDavid is worth $20 million annually but “settles” for something in the Kirill Kaprizov range, hoping that gives GM Stan Bowman enough cap space to put a championship-caliber team on the ice. We fire up the handwringing once more when McDavid arrives at his 2028-29 walk year as a 31-year-old.

Based on the latest information we have on McDavid’s possible extension, this isn’t too bold a prediction, but it’s an interesting idea for sure. That being said, while there’s been rumours of McDavid signing a shorter deal, three years would be a surprise. Especially since it would make us less than two years out from starting this whole process again. Still, to have arguably the best player in the world signed on a team-friendly deal is something no fan would turn down.

One of the hottest events on the calendar this season is the return of NHLers to the Winter Olympics. Larkin gives his hot take on who will round out the podium:

The Olympics’ biggest shocker: a Cinderella bronze medal for Germany.

Led by Leon Draisaitl, Tim Stutzle and JJ Peterka at forward and Moritz Seider on defense, Germany has never iced a team this competitive in best-on-best play. It has a legitimate chance to finish second in Group C behind USA and reach the knockout round, at which point any team is capable of pulling off an upset or two.

Now that would be something. Germany captured the silver medal in men’s hockey at the 2018 Games, but that was without an NHL presence. Outside of that, the Germans have two bronze medal finishes at the tournament, first in 1932, then as West Germany in 1976. This year, with real firepower on their roster, they certainly have a shot at it, but it won’t be easy. Can the Germans use the sting of being sidelined from the 4 Nations Face-Off to light a fire under them?

Larkin offers several other interesting predictions in his piece, including that Evgeni Malkin will go to the Panthers and Jake Oettinger will take home the Vezina Trophy. That being said, he also predicts the U.S. will win Gold at the Olympics, so it may be best to disregard his takes altogether.