Edmonton Oilers: New Deals, McDavid Extension & Season Opener

A lot of late offseason news to talk about before the start of first game. The Edmonton Oilers re-signed Vasily Podkolzin to a three year extension that’ll kick in after this season. He’ll make $2.9M, being a favourite linemate of Leon Draisaitl’s. Kris Knoblauch also received a three extension. I don’t always agree with his coaching decisions, but you can’t go wrong with the results since he took over behind the bench. Goaltender Connor Ingram was traded to Edmonton from Utah after clearing waivers and will start the season in the AHL.

If you base him on just last season, he’s not a massive upgrade on the tandem being run back. But he is an insurance marker if either Stuart Skinner or Calvin Pickard have rough moments again. Pickard was a similar sort of hero in the 2023/2024 season, if you remember. Jake Walman signed a seven year extension that’ll pay him $7M per year. Walman was an under-the-radar acquisition by Stan Bowman at last season’s trade deadline. I’m excited for a full season with him. No offense to any of these individuals, but there’s one particular signing that everyone’s happier about.

Connor McDavid signed a two year extension that’ll pay him $12.5M per year after his current contract expires next summer. This had been awaited all summer long in the hockey world, but I was never worried. It was always a matter of when, not if, even if you preferred the news coming sooner. The anxiety over him potentially not re-signing came from fans and media of other teams, either assuming for a long time that he’d never want to stay in Edmonton or making pointless hypotheticals with no perspective on his current team to back them up. The rage baiting will be put on hold for the next two seasons, then they’ll start it all over again after July 1st, 2027.

The number of years on the new contract also doesn’t surprise me, but the dollars do. Having the best player in the NHL take the same amount of money he’s already making is the team-friendly deal of team-friendly deals. He wanted this kind of contract to ensure there was enough cap space each season to keep making necessary moves. Had the term been longer, the cap hit would be bigger, but management might also not feel as much urgency. A shorter term like this one puts greater onus on keeping the Stanley Cup window open and staying competitive.

Even if McDavid had not re-signed yet, remember that before the Tampa Bay Lightning won their two Cups with Steven Stamkos, he didn’t re-sign until two days before July 1st, 2016, when he would’ve been a UFA. From our point of view, as people who just enjoy watching the games, we like to think it should just be as easy as presenting a blank cheque and writing whatever you want on it. But we don’t always know as much as we think we know. Connor should be the league’s highest-paid player, but basically lit $7M or $8M on fire to help the team he apparently hates playing for win. With someone as talented as McDavid, I understand why people had fun imagining the idea of him testing the free agent market next summer. But again, there was never any indication that he wanted to leave.

Can you argue that he’d have entertained leaving if the Oilers won one of the last two Cups? Sure, that’s a fair take, as he’d have already done his job in Edmonton. But with his wife starting businesses in Edmonton, his best friend re-signing long term last year(I was more nervous about that), both he and Leon Draisaitl’s wives also being best friends, persuading players to sign with his team, and two straight Final appearances, I can’t for the life of me understand why so many people were adamant in believing he’d suddenly abandon all of that. We always heard years ago that if the Oilers didn’t improve with McDavid, he’d move on. Then we still heard he wanted to move on after they improved? Make it make sense.

The culture of the Oilers starts and ends with 97, he knows that. He’ll keep trying to win with this team until it’s no longer possible, but he won’t give up easily. With all of that said, they have to continue showing their commitment in these next three years. If a forward or defenseman isn’t panning out, change them. If the goaltending doesn’t bounce back, change one of the goalies. Give younger players a chance to flourish on the roster. Ken Holland was once quoted as Oilers GM saying, “You can’t go all in every year”. While I understand where he was getting at, the way he worded it should’ve been “It’s hard to go all in every year”. But you still have to try, there’s no room for moral victories anymore. Needing to go all in every year is why McDavid took less money, and we can’t expect every extension to be generous. As he said in an Instagram post after the signing, “Our Journey Here Continues”, so let’s get the new season started. The keys to the game are…

First Impressions: Matt Savoie will be playing his season opener after playing some NHL games as an Oiler last season, and Isaac Howard is making his NHL debut. We can expect some nerves and maybe a mistake, they’re learning.

Old Friends, New Frienemies: Andrew Mangiapane is playing in his first Battle of Alberta on the opposite side after playing six seasons in Calgary. I spent all of September in Italy and bought an Oilers shirt with his number for the occasion. Never in my life did I think I’d be that thrilled for a former Flame.

Mr. Wolf: Dustin Wolf was a Calder Trophy nominee last season. Montreal’s Lane Hutson fully deserved it, but a part of me would’ve given the award to Wolf if the Flames made the Playoffs. There’s promise for him as Calgary’s future in the goaltending position. They need to be careful not to have his development as a young goalie mirror that of Devan Dubnyk and Stuart Skinner.