Connor McDavid‘s contract with the Edmonton Oilers doesn’t expire for another two seasons, but TSN’s OverDrive panel decided to settle his future anyway. Asked to put a number on the odds he re-signs, Jeff O’Neill didn’t bother with a range.
“I think it’s zero,” O’Neill said.
His reasoning rests on what he believes McDavid communicated to the organization when he signed his extension last October, a two-year deal worth $25 million that carries a $12.5 million cap hit through 2027-28. The short term was the message, in O’Neill’s view.
“I think he told them I’ve got two years here, and if we don’t win a Cup, I’m gonna go do it somewhere else,” O’Neill said. “When your assistant captain says, look around here, we’ve got two years to make this thing happen, I think that means something. And I’m not trying to cause a controversy. I think he told them I’m going to sign a two-year extension, I’m gonna chop that off the cap for you guys to try to do some work. That’s the window he gave them.”
Jamie McLennan then asked the obvious follow-up: what if Edmonton actually wins the Cup?
“Even more,” O’Neill replied. “He gave them the Cup that they want.”
When does Connor McDavid’s contract expire?
The rest of the panel landed nowhere near him. McLennan went highest at 70 percent, though he wanted to revise it downward after hearing everyone else. Bryan Hayes offered 40 percent, noting that staying would mean 13 years in Edmonton, while Mike Johnson settled on 23 percent.
Oilers supporters were not amused, and much of the irritation was aimed at the Toronto-based panel rather than the argument itself.
“The year is 2033. Connor McDavid has won multiple Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers, he’s broken franchise records, and, as he enters the twilight stages of his career, Jeff O’Neill still believes there’s a 0% chance he stays in Edmonton,” one account posted.
“The TSN, or rather Toronto, obsession with McDavid leaving the Oilers is so pathetic. He’s not going to Toronto, get over it,” another wrote.
READ MORE: How to watch the Edmonton Oilers in 2026-27
It’s worth stating clearly that none of this is reporting. As Yardbarker noted, O’Neill never made his reasoning entirely clear beyond hinting that he simply believes McDavid is destined to leave, and no part of it came from the player or the club.
Edmonton opens the regular season at home on Tuesday, having exited in the first round last spring before replacing Kris Knoblauch with Mike Babcock in June.
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