Maple Leafs have strong reason to believe they can sign Connor McDavid

Connor McDavid has still not extended his contract with the Edmonton Oilers as he enters his eighth and final year of his current agreement.

McDavid, 28, will be an unrestricted free agent (UFA) in 2026 if he does not reach an agreement with the Oilers, and according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, the Toronto Maple Leafs are wondering "what’s happening" with the Canadian center.

“Just like 15 other teams around the NHL, until Connor makes his decision, there are teams that are gonna want to know, ‘Do we have to keep our powder dry for the summer of 2026?’ The Leafs are among them,” said LeBrun.

In fact, there is a strong reason to believe that Toronto could sign McDavid, and it is that the Oilers player has recently made statements that could be an important clue about what the future holds for him. The center's words, curiously, are very similar to what Mitch Marner used to say at the time, before moving to the Leafs from the Vegas Golden Knights.

Is McDavid's speech a farewell from Edmonton?

In September 2024, Marner seemed committed to Toronto, without giving many details about his true intention. 

“It’s another year of wanting to be the best you can be and help this team win hockey games,” he said then, via the NHL official website.

"That’s where my mind is, it’s not thinking of a contract year, and you have to be doing this and that. It’s just another hockey year where you want to be the best you can be to help this team win hockey games and get to the ultimate goal," added Marner.

For his part, McDavid's speech goes practically along the same lines. "I’ll take my time and go through everything. I have every intention of winning in Edmonton. It’s my only focus," he said at the end of August of this year, via Sportsnet.

"I want the group to be as focused and dialed in and ready to roll from Day 1 as much as possible, and we don’t need any distractions," added McDavid. 

Unfortunately for the 28-year-old Canadian, his contractual situation has already become a big distraction. History tells us that it is more than likely that in 2026, the center will be defending another jersey.