Edmonton Oilers Remain Patient With Connor McDavid
It has been status quo for Connor McDavid when he has been asked about his contract extension. He continues to preach patience and that he is taking his time. Though there remains an air of confidence that this deal will get done. CEO of Hockey Operations Jeff Jackson believes it will get done. But what does his general manager think?
Edmonton Oilers General Manager Stan Bowman joined TSN Radio in Toronto, and he was asked about where things stand between the team and Connor McDavid on a new contract extension.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Host: “We might as well get right at it, the elephant in the country. We’ve been calling it not just the elephant in the room or the elephant in the market. That would, of course, be Connor McDavid and his contractual status. Why are we at this point? Or can you give us kind of a timeline as to why we’re still in a position here where camps are almost opening up, and Connor’s got another year left on his deal, but as of now, he has not signed an extension with you guys.”
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Bowman: “Yeah, well, I think Connor has been pretty open about his thoughts, and I don’t want to speak for him, but I think there’s really no secrets. Or there’s not any more to the story, other than he’s just taking his time, and we respect that we understand.
I mean, you know, I think he’s obviously the best player in the game, and we love having him here, and he’s our captain and our leader. And, we’re excited about that, excited about this season. And, I think he’s just working through things on his own, and we kind of understand that, so we’ll be patient, but he knows that we love having him here, and we want him to remain in Edmondson. That’s kind of the process that we’re going through right now.”
NHLRumors.com Note: Again, the Edmonton Oilers know where things stand with Connor McDavid. McDavid has been clear in all his answers that he is taking his time to evaluate everything that is going on. It is hard to plan the rest of your life in just one or two days. He did have a busy offseason outside of hockey. As Bowman notes, Connor McDavid wants to win a Stanley Cup in Edmonton. They are respecting the process he is going through. So is their CEO of Hockey Operations, Jeff Jackson.
With so many big names out there on the market this year, McDavid is looking at it all. He knows he should be paid fairly, but also knows there is a salary cap. So whatever he ends up wanting or getting could affect how the team is built around him. With players’ understanding of a rising salary cap, they could look to maximize their value even more. Not to mention, there is a guy in the Minnesota Wild, Kirill Kaprizov, who has a chance to reset the market as well.
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So it is just a waiting game, and as the late great Tom Petty sang, “The Waiting is the Hardest Part.”
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