Wayne Gretzky knows more than most about leaving the Edmonton Oilers. Asked about Connor McDavid‘s future on The Pat McAfee Show, he didn’t think the comparison applied.
McAfee, naturally, floated his own preference first.
“Don’t we kind of need him with the Penguins?” he asked.
Gretzky countered with a suggestion of his own before closing the door on the whole premise.
“Well, I live in Florida. I’d like to see him there,” Gretzky said. “But people in Edmonton don’t want him to leave.”
Will Connor McDavid leave the Oilers?
Gretzky’s view is that the question has a fairly simple answer, and that it comes down to what McDavid actually wants.
“He likes it there. The organization is a good organization, and they’ve got a chance every year to win,” Gretzky said. “That’s all he wants, and I don’t see Connor leaving Edmonton.”
That puts him at odds with a fair amount of recent commentary. TSN’s Jeff O’Neill put the odds of McDavid re-signing at zero last week, while Frank Seravalli predicted he won’t sign an extension next summer and would eventually depart via a small sign-and-trade similar to Mitch Marner‘s exit from Toronto.
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Gretzky was also sympathetic about the one thing missing from McDavid’s career.
“Nobody wants to win a championship worse than he does. Hopefully, his time will come,” Gretzky said. “I know it’s not from a lack of effort or dedication or love of the sport. I hope one day he gets that opportunity to lift the Stanley Cup. He definitely deserves it.”
The frustration is understandable. McDavid has six Art Ross Trophies and three Hart Trophies, took Edmonton to consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, and then put up 138 points last season only to go out in the first round to Anaheim.
He remains under contract through 2027-28, with Edmonton having replaced Kris Knoblauch with Mike Babcock and reworked its defense and goaltending since that exit.
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