Oilers GM Turns Heads With Connor McDavid Announcement on Friday
Oilers GM Turns Heads With Connor McDavid Announcement on Friday originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Edmonton Oilers barely have time to regroup from their bitter Stanley Cup Final loss to the Florida Panthers before needing to face their next challenge -- the future of star Connor McDavid.
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The former No. 1 overall pick has one year left on his contract, but the team can sign an extension starting on July 1. Oilers general manager Stan Bowman announced on Friday that bringing McDavid back is a priority, but they will be letting him set the timeline for a new deal.
"Certainly we're eager to meet with him whenever he wants, but also understanding that he just went through a very tough ending to the season," Bowman said, via Sportsnet. "Timing-wise, Connor's gonna drive that process, but there's no question, he's a pivotal player on our team, and not just what he does on the ice, but his leadership."
Bowman added that the Oilers still see McDavid as the cornerstone of the team, sharing some praise for his leadership qualities.
Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid plays in the Stanley Cup Final.Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
"I've had a chance to work with him now this year, and I've been just so impressed with how things you guys probably don't see, but what kind of a teammate he is and and he's incredibly important to our group, and you know, whenever he's ready, we're going to dive into that."
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McDavid has led the Oilers to back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances, though the team lost to the Panthers in both seasons.
Related: Connor McDavid Answers 'Pretty Heavy Question' on Stanley Cup Pressure
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 21, 2025, where it first appeared.
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Washington Post
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- Washington Post
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New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
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(Note: To see the full chart, you may need to scroll horizontally or use two fingers to swipe.) (* — Canadiens cap number does not include LTIR for Carey Price's $10.5 million contract) What jumps out is that there is a lot of cap space out there, and the Canadiens are at the bottom of that column. However, when you add in Price's LTIR allowance, they jump up to roughly $18 million in available money, ahead of the Ottawa Senators and Seattle Kraken. Advertisement The Kraken have already weaponized some of their cap space in acquiring Mason Marchment from the Stars for third- and fourth-round draft picks. Just about every team here is better positioned for similar moves than the Canadiens are, even though they are likely to fill one or two of their open slots with an entry-level contract, whether that's David Reinbacher, Logan Mailloux or someone else. In terms of pick value and volume in the first three rounds of the upcoming draft, the Canadiens are only looking up at the Philadelphia Flyers, which have an astounding seven of the top 50 picks. Flyers general manager Daniel Brière spoke earlier this week about the draft and provided a seemingly accurate indication of what the market looks like for teams looking to trade picks and/or prospects for players, and more specifically, for centres. 'Calling around the league and finding centres is almost impossible,' Brière said Tuesday. 'And you're not going to find a first-line or second-line centre. A lot of teams will be willing to entertain moving a fourth-line guy, but they will want a second-line winger in return. They're hard to find.' In terms of the Flyers' willingness to move some of their cache of draft picks, Brière didn't sound all that sure about that possibility, either. 'We're not going to pay crazy assets just to do something crazy,' he said. 'It has to make sense. 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Advertisement Aside from Dallas, the Lightning and Colorado Avalanche have some relatively minor cap housekeeping to do. Still, the rest of the league has at least a $5 million cushion to work with as of Friday afternoon, entering the draft and free agency. The point of this exercise was to see where Montreal fits in the marketplace. The Canadiens have a lot of draft capital to work with and have the top-ranked prospect pool on this list, but they don't have a massive advantage anywhere. Several other teams have picks and prospects they're willing to trade to improve their position. One thing that Hughes said just after the Canadiens were eliminated from the playoffs is relevant to their need to add veterans and maintain a good balance of youth and experience on the roster. 'For sure, we want to add more talent to our team,' he said last month, 'but we need to determine whether we should add experience or if we should become more experienced.' 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New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
What I'm hearing about the Winnipeg Jets: Jonathan Toews' impact on Nikolaj Ehlers' future, more
The Winnipeg Jets can sign famous Conn Smythe Trophy-winning unrestricted free-agent players with glittering resumes after all. It helps when his name is attached to a prominent city community centre. Or that he maintains close, positive relationships with Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff and True North chairman Mark Chipman. Jonathan Toews is famously proud of his Winnipeg roots, and his homecoming has seemed like a fait accompli — pending good health — since he told The Athletic he was serious about his comeback bid. Advertisement The Jets have signed Toews to a bonus-laden contract, with a base salary of $2 million and the potential for Toews to earn as much as $7 million He is beginning the final act of a career that includes three Stanley Cup titles, the aforementioned Conn Smythe Trophy, 883 points in 1,067 regular-season games and 119 points in 137 playoff games. His next game will be his first since April 2023, after long COVID derailed the now 37-year-old's NHL career. He's been to Costa Rica, Indonesia and India in search of good health — and has most recently been skating and training in Minneapolis. But what can Toews be at this stage of his career? How does his signing affect Nikolaj Ehlers or Winnipeg's other UFAs? And what's the latest on Dylan Samberg, Gabriel Vilardi, the Jets' plans at the draft and Winnipeg's other key roster decisions? This is what I'm hearing about the Jets' offseason so far. There are two schools of thought on Toews' impact on Ehlers' future. One is that Toews' bonus-heavy contract will force the Jets to keep $7 million in cap space allocated for him, thus eating up too much budget and forcing Ehlers out the door. That's not the case. Or: It's not automatically the case. Toews' base salary of $2 million will count against Winnipeg's salary cap during the season. At the end of the year, the bonuses he achieves will be added to the Jets' final cap hit. As per PuckPedia: If Toews' bonuses bring Winnipeg over the $95.5 million cap, then the amount by which Winnipeg exceeds $95.5 million will be applied to the 2026-27 Jets cap as a carryover. If the Jets are willing to go into overages on all $5 million of Toews' bonus, they have about $23 million to sign Samberg, Vilardi, Ehlers and two depth forwards. AFP Analytics projects an $8.1 million contract for Ehlers, $5.2 million for Samberg and $6.8 million for Vilardi, leaving sufficient room to sign all three and bring up whichever depth forwards they choose. Advertisement If the Jets want to pay Ehlers $8.5 million — and he wants to take it — there's room for him to stay. Does he want to stay? We're headed for a situation in which Ehlers explores everything the UFA market has to offer. It's sensible to think that contending teams with cap space and roster room — or plans to open up that room — will include the Carolina Hurricanes, the Washington Capitals, the New Jersey Devils and both New York teams, among others. Ehlers wants to win, wants to get paid, wants to play a big role and might not want to do it in a fishbowl. I don't think his future runs through Toronto or Montreal, for example, nor do I expect a rebuilding team such as the Chicago Blackhawks to be at the front of his mind. It's important to highlight the degree to which Ehlers has kept his negotiations out of the media. He has said he loves Winnipeg and his teammates and nothing more, including in one-on-one conversations throughout the season. The impact of this approach is to leave the door open. If (and when) he explores the UFA market, he'll have the opportunity to evaluate an array of offers, contrast them with the Jets' offer, and — if he finds the grass doesn't look greener — he'll be able to circle back. As much as I expect Ehlers to sign elsewhere, he hasn't burned any bridges, nor have the Jets. That's a vital consideration that (obviously) speaks well of both sides. There's no doubt in my mind the Jets are thrilled to have signed Toews. The on-ice bet is sensible: Mark Scheifele is the team's No. 1 centre, and Adam Lowry plays a lot of top competition in a shutdown role. If Toews replaces Vladislav Namestnikov — last year's nominal second-line centre, despite averaging 12:34 at five-on-five compared with Lowry's 12:43 — it will be Toews' smallest workload since he was a rookie. Advertisement Even at 37 years old, on the downswing of his career — and even coming back from chronic inflammatory response syndrome and symptoms of long COVID — this is a job Toews might succeed in. The Jets don't need him to be the Conn Smythe Trophy-winning perennial All-Star he once was. They need him to be something closer to the equivalent of Paul Stastny during Stastny's second stint with the team. Toews' contract structure mitigates some but not all of that risk. If he's entirely unable to play and this whole thing goes poorly, then the Jets burned $2 million on a one-year contract. There's really no issue with that, with any amount of belief in Toews' ability. A league source told The Athletic that Toews' contract pays $2 million in base salary with another $5 million available in potential bonuses: Toews would thus cost $5.25 million if Toews plays at least 50 games and the Jets make the playoffs. He wouldn't have to play well — he'd just need to play. The Jets are banking on the Stastny-Part-2 type of impact, but the range of possibilities here is wide. Toews' compete level and hockey IQ are elite such that he's a viable NHL player even if his wheels are gone; even if he's a fourth-line centre, say, he can help … but he'd be an awfully expensive fourth-line centre. My guess is Toews will help in a secondary capacity even if he's unable to return to top-six excellence. Even without Ehlers, there are multiple viable combinations. One version of the Jets' top-nine forward group: Connor — Scheifele — Vilardi Perfetti — Toews — Iafallo Niederreiter — Lowry — Namestnikov It's not ideal, but it's solid. Winnipeg would be more explosive with Ehlers in the lineup, and seven of these nine forwards are left-handed shooters. But Toews and Lowry could each play substantial roles in the middle six, if everything works out. If Toews struggles, then Lowry and Scheifele will play more. If he excels at any point, there's room for his role to grow. Advertisement The toughest ask might be of Scott Arniel: Toews is Toews, whatever level he can get to. It would be hard for most coaches not to tap him for his next shift, regardless of his level of play. A little early-season restraint could go a long way. Dominic Toninato has parted ways with his agent, Neil Sheehy, who said his understanding is that Toninato intends to represent himself in offseason negotiations. Toninato, 31, played in five regular-season games and two playoff games for Winnipeg this season, along with 60 AHL games for Manitoba. He was also named Moose captain this season and is well appreciated by the Jets organization. I expect him to sign another two-way NHL/AHL contract with Winnipeg. I'm less confident in contracts for pending UFAs Mason Appleton and Brandon Tanev. They've earned larger contracts than I expect Winnipeg to value — the ultimate case of 'I like that player, but not at that price.' If the Jets do let them go, Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Parker Ford will compete for depth jobs at a fraction of the cost. Meanwhile, Brad Lambert and Nikita Chibrikov are still waiver-exempt, but it's about time at least one of them seized an NHL job. Rasmus Kupari would have been ideal, but he wanted a bigger role and will get one with Lugano HC in Switzerland. I'd understand some frustration after a season spent mostly as a fourth-line centre, but wonder whether Kupari is costing himself a shot at more opportunity with the Jets themselves — particularly if Appleton's job becomes available. I wouldn't expect either Samberg or Vilardi to sign quickly. Instead, I expect each of them will file for arbitration before the deadline July 5 and then continue to negotiate in advance of their hearings. They're both integral pieces of the Jets' future. Samberg is fully bought in on Winnipeg, and I expect him to sign a long-term contract. Vilardi's development extends the Jets' competitive window, and he's a similarly big priority. Why no rush, then? One reason is there's no deadline. We've seen Kyle Connor, Patrik Laine and Josh Morrissey all sign in September, for example. Arbitration creates a mid-August deadline, depending on the hearing date, because no one truly wants to hear their team carve them apart to keep the money down. Another reason is this summer's $7.5 million increase in the salary cap. Negotiations usually hinge upon apples-to-apples comparisons — UFA to UFA, RFA to RFA, etc. — but the increased cap creates the opportunity for surprising contracts. It might be in everybody's interest to wait and see how July 1 affects the market before committing to a long-term contract. Advertisement The Jets will have eight defencemen under contract once Samberg is signed. That's not a problem — it's easy enough to make it to training camp and waive somebody, as necessary — but there's a chance the Jets will trim their defence pre-emptively this time around. Logan Stanley's name was floated on the trade market last summer, for example, although the interest was not substantial. Ville Heinola is another defenceman who could be had if the Jets received a meaningful offer. Stanley is scheduled to become a UFA next summer, and Heinola could join him. The 24-year-old Finn needs to play 27 NHL games this season to stay under Jets control. There's also the chance Winnipeg will move an older player, such as Luke Schenn or Colin Miller. I have not heard the Jets are looking to make space that way — and, again, the easiest play is to wait until camp and hope good health forces difficult decisions on all fronts. — Salary-cap data via PuckPedia. — The Athletic's Chris Johnston contributed to this report. (Top photo of Jonathan Toews in March 2022: Jamie Sabau / Getty Images)
