‘McDavid feels as confident in Oilers as he ever has’: Rishaug on conversation with McDavid

That leads us to uh what we hope is the first of many, many appearances by our TSN Edmonton bureau chief, Ryan Rashag, on our show this season. Here’s Ryan Rashag. He had a chance to speak with McDavid on Thursday. Ryan, what stood out about what he had to say to you? Yeah. Well, Jay, I think the first thing is just that he’s doing it right. A lot of players, uh, you know, would get back to town and in their media availabilities, you know, would basically say, “I’m not talking about my contract. Talk to my agent.” Right? We hear that all the time. But Conor McDavid is facing the questions, right? I asked him a ton of questions today about his contract for that article. And, you know, it was no holds barred. So, he he understands his profile in the city. He wants to to speak and have fans hear what he has to say. He understands that responsibility. So the fact that he was doing it, the interesting thing was Jay, I think a lot of people would assume that there’s some distraction involved with McDavid not having a contract heading into this regular season that it would create a problem for the team and always having to answer questions about it and distraction around the city and such. He really batted that down and said, “I’m not really worried about that as much as some people might think. We’re a mature group. We’re professional hockey players. If people aren’t performing because we’re talking about my contract, we’re all in the wrong business here.” So Jay, you know, he really took a hard approach to that in, you know, suggesting that it should not be a distraction for his team like we all might assume. At the same time, uh, Dry Cidle did sign before they hit the ice last summer. So what do you personally, and you said it, Ryan, you asked him a ton of questions. So what do you read into the fact that he actually hasn’t signed just yet? Yeah, I I think he’s, you know, he said from the start that he was going to take his time. I don’t think they’re going to be swayed by any kind of artificial deadlines. I mean, really, what are the deadlines here that matter, you know, like he’s under contract, he’s got a no trade. He needs to make sure that his head is in the right place and that he feels confident about the decision that he’s making. Now, he said at the end of the season, if he feels confident about their ability to win year-over-year, doing an extension shouldn’t be a problem. So, I asked him, you don’t have a contract done yet. is, you know, some might assume that there’s a lack of confidence in the ability to win year-over-year. And he said, “Look, nobody has a crystal ball.” He feels as confident in the group they have right now as he ever has. And and he said that this is not about belief. This is about, you know, Conor McDavid having spent his entire life building this hockey career and this being a monumental decision and wanting to take all the time that he needs to feel good about the decision. And I know, you know, fans might find that frustrating. people might in town be getting a little nervous about this. I’m sure other management would love it if he got it done. Um, but you know, he needs to make sure here and he’s just not there yet and so they’re not going to be swayed by these deadlines. So, you know, having talked to him as much as you have, if and when this deal does get done, in your mind, what does it look like exactly? Yeah. And I mean to be clear, you know, I’m gonna take a guess at this, but this doesn’t have anything to do with anything that he has said uh to me. You know, my gut here, Jay, is that it it’s not going to be an eight-year deal. Like for the Oilers to get McDavid done to an eight-year deal, that number is massive. If you’re buying eight years off of Conor McDavid, it’s 17 18 million, right? The the the the higher the number of years, the higher the cap hit, and that gets in the way of his number one priority of winning. So, I I see the sweet spot being back in that fouryear range potentially. Could be shorter than that. Could be a couple of years. Um, which some will look into that and say, “Well, he’s not committed long term.” That’s not necessarily the case either, right? A shorter term deal means the cap number comes down and that increases their chance to win. I could see it in the $16 million range on a two or a four-year deal. I don’t know that it’ll go much higher than that, Jay. Um, so we’ll see where this thing lands, but people need to remember if it’s an eight-year deal, the number gets much bigger. And if McDavid’s number one priority is winning, peacemealing this thing a little bit is probably more conducive to trying to do that. And if you want to hear more about what Ryan had to ask Conor McDavid and what Conor McDavid had to say to Ryan, all you have to do is go to our website. Ryan’s written a terrific article, tsn.ca. websites. They’re still cool. Well, so is Ryan Rashad.

With Oilers training camp a few weeks away, all eyes are on Connor McDavid, who has yet to sign a contract extension as he enters the final season of an eight-year, $100 million contract. TSN Oilers reporter Ryan Rishaug spoke to McDavid on Thursday afternoon and joined SC with Jay Onrait afterwards to discuss his conversation with the Oilers captain.

15 comments

  1. He has no intention of signing an extension if he hasn’t already. You either want to be an Oiler or you don’t. It’s as simple as that. Look at Sid, his heart and soul is in being a Penguin. He could have gone anywhere but he is loyal and resigned with a pens team that is going nowhere.

  2. Shortest distance to cup win…. FLORIDA PANTHERS is where he would move to .

    Solves every demand Conner could ponder to make the choice .

    No contract signed , trade deadline nears , Florida grabs him prior to playoff start

  3. Not sure what else can McJesus say in that conversation. Was it an option for him to say: 'We got clobbered by the Panthers a few months ago and we're running basically the same team back with the same goalie tandem hoping it'll work…'

  7. MacDavid knows he ain't winning anything until Bouchard and Nurse stay in the Team with pathetic Line 3 and 4. He has 10 times more hockey knowledge and this is just basic common understanding.

  8. I haven’t followed the Oilers closely this off-season since I’m not a fan, but from what I’ve heard, isn’t this team worse than the one that started last season?

  9. I take you back to 1986-87. The Calgary Flames were one of the best teams that year with a 46-31-3 record. The absolutely clobbered the Oilers all year long, going 6-1-1 against them. The Flames were particularly good against teams from outside their own division. They lost to the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the 1987 playoffs, 4 games to 2. In game six, in Winnipeg, the Flames were destroyed by the Jets 6-1 and eliminated. The cry was for offence. And did they ever get offence. The following year in 1987-88, the Calgary Flames scored a whopping 397 goals, nearly five goals per game and an astonishing 79 goals more than 1986-87 (they scored 318 that year). Those were the days of the 80-game season, and not 84 and 82 later on. The Flames in 87-88 were so strong they were able to trade Brett Hull (yes, that is correct, trade Hull) to St. Louis in a big trade to get All-Star defenseman Rob Ramage. The Flames defense was so strong in 87-88 as well, to complement a team that scored nearly 400 goals. The Flames were swept by the Oilers in the second round of the 1988 playoffs but were just one piece away from winning the Cup. The answer? It was getting Doug Gilmour from St. Louis.

    Fast forward to 2025-26. Will the Oilers need just one more piece to win it all?

  11. it's obvious the oilers will give him whatever money he needs so it's not that. And it's not because Ryan says 'he's taking his time'. there's no point in saying that on air, it doesn't have any meaning. time is of the essence, always has been. so, it's for a reason other than time. i would assume he's just waiting for the oilers to make some other personnel changes. which means it could go right up to the trade deadline but i'd expect that ice-jam to break much sooner than that. the oilers will make a big trade, mcdavid will sign.

  15. I've been an oilers fan since 82, and am a diehard fan but a few things really rubbed me the wrong way
    A) He has been here 10 years, been treated like the superstar he is, Places in a top notch arena and has made over 100 million in hockey salary
    has been to two cup finals, a conference final and had playoff success, If he is still unsure of "signing here" I would rather see a trade and let
    someone be captain that wants to be here
    B)The fact that he has no care if it is a distraction to his team mates is a huge red flag, he is basically holding Oilers management hostage with
    "lip Service" he is giving in his current interviews ( I get he took the summer that I agree with) but Come September 3rd there should be a lot
    more positives coming from the process, and if he is that unsure say so and man up, Don't leave your team mates and management
    in limbo with there hands tied
    C) I am a proud Edmontonian and die hard Oilers Fan, I remember the Dany Heatleys, The Prongers and so on and wish the Oilers brass would
    feel the same way, I thought these days were behind us and no matter how you look at it the fans pay his salary with ticket and jersey sales
    we support him and the team without hesitation, Is it not alright to want the same courtesy back?

    No matter how you look at it this has a bad ending written all over it and if his stance is he is "unsure", wants to give us the ole Blah Blah Blah then I have no issues with some of the Oilers brass having some pride, standing up for the fans that make this all possible and trading him where he would "be comfortable with his decisions and have a chance to win" and getting someone in here that cares.

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