McDavid admits ‘all options are on the table’ for contract extension with Oilers, but has ‘every intention to win in Edmonton’

Connor McDavid has made it clear: “I have every intention win in Edmonton.”

The Edmonton Oilers captain fielded questions for the first time since last season on Wednesday as he and other Team Canada Olympic hopefuls gathered in Calgary for an orientation camp, and it didn’t take long for him to be asked about entering this season as an unrestricted free agent

“Not even a softball Olympic question for me to start hey? That’s okay — right into it,” he joked with TSN’s Ryan Rishaug, who asked where things sit for him in terms of a contract extension.

Jokes aside, McDavid was honest about where he sat.

“I said at the end of June I had every intention to take my time with it, and I still feel the same way,” he said. “Take my time and go through everything. I have every intention to win in Edmonton — that’s my only focus, maybe next to winning a gold medal with Canada. That is my intention to win there.”

McDavid said he was taking his time with working on the contract, “going through it with my family, my agent, everybody involved.”

He was then asked if he was comfortable entering this season without an extension in place, and while it could seem as though he was non-committal, that wasn’t exactly the case.

“I would say all options are on the table. I don’t have a preference either way. I want the group to be as focused and dialled in, and ready to roll come day one as possible, and we don’t need any distractions.”

His saying the team doesn’t need any distractions is what can be read between the lines, as it’s evident that if he were to enter the year without a deal, it would dominate headlines not only in Edmonton, but every city the Oilers travelled to.

Oilers CEO Jeff Jackson spoke to Daily Faceoff’s Jeff Marek last week, saying that when the negotiations begin, they won’t be long. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, meanwhile, speculated that the two sides will sit down in earnest after the orientation camp.

This upcoming season marks the final season of an eight-year, $12.5-million AAV extension he signed in July 2017.