While the eyes of the NHL may have been on Connor McDavid this summer as he weighed an extension with the Edmonton Oilers, CEO of hockey operations Jeff Jackson says no team took a swing at acquiring the star centre.

“No. I mean, I think there were lots of teams that were maybe looking at it and wondering, ‘What’s going to happen there?’ But ultimately, there was no trade offer, and we weren’t thinking that at all,” Jackson told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun in The Athletic.

McDavid wound up signing a two-year, $25 million contract extension with the Oilers last week, keeping his average annual value at $12.5 million despite the rising NHL salary cap.

The 28-year-old centre had been non-committal on an extending with the Oilers during the summer, starting shortly after the team fell to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight year.

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— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) October 16, 2025

While McDavid’s short-term future is now set in Edmonton, the eyes of potential suitors have turned to 2028, when he could hit the unrestricted free agent market. Jackson said the deal hasn’t added any pressure to get the Oilers over the hump, which, of course, has already been the front office’s goal.

“I think you’re always on the clock,” Jackson said. “That’s the way it is. That’s natural for that conclusion to be drawn. When I took the job two years ago, I said we have to be a very competitive team, with an opportunity to compete for the Cup, to make sure that we keep Connor and Leon [Draisaitl] and the core. So, it’s no different.

“The number that Connor took for his cap hit — really, like, what were the options over one or two years? He’s not taking $12.5 million for an extended period of time. So, it’s a decision he made in the short term so that we have three years at $12.5 million, and yeah, our goal is to continue to be a good team and be there at the end. His deal doesn’t change that. I don’t feel like we’re on the clock any more than we were on the clock two years ago, to be honest.”

McDavid has opened this season with four assists in three games as the Oilers have started 2-0-1. Edmonton will visit the New York Islanders on Thursday.