Stan Bowman Reveals Details About Connor McDavid's Future and Upcoming Roster Moves

McDavid, who is eligible to sign an extension on July 1, said Thursday he doesn't feel pressured to have a deal done right away, adding his focus remains on winning his first Stanley Cup.

The 28-year-old centre notched 26 goals and 100 points in 67 regular-season games, followed by a playoff streak of 33 points in 22 games. Edmonton fell in the Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row, this time to the Florida Panthers.

McDavid is entering the final season of his eight-year, $100 million contract that carries a $12.5 million cap hit. He'll become an unrestricted free agent in 2026. The Oilers have a little under $12 million of cap space with 19 players signed.

Forward Trent Frederic has been rumoured to be finalising an extension with the club, with an eight-year deal worth around $4 million per year being reported. Bowman said nothing is official, but believes Frederic can play centre and wing.

Restricted free agent Evan Bouchard is another big name this summer, and McDavid has stated re-signing the defenceman is a priority.

Bowman admits he will be making changes in goal and up front

Bowman expects the defence corps will be mostly the same. In goal and up front, Bowman admitted the team would try to make some changes.

'The defence will have the least number of changes,' Bowman said. 'I like how they played. The forwards and goalies is where we will have some changes.'

He believed the Oilers had the edge in goal through the first three rounds of the playoffs, but acknowledged Sergei Bobrovsky was better than Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard in the Final.