News that Minnesota Wild superstar left winger Kirill Kaprizov signed an eight-year contract extension Tuesday sent ripple effects throughout the NHL – most notably, in Edmonton, where Oilers dynamo Connor McDavid is in need of a contract extension.
But with Kaprizov now setting a new financial high point for free agents at $17 million per season, the question that arises is whether McDavid should accept significantly less to give the Oilers a hometown discount of sorts.
From this writer’s perspective, the answer is obvious: McDavid should be asking for every penny he’s eligible to get under the collective bargaining agreement – the full 20 percent of the salary cap ceiling. That would mean that, if the salary cap maximum in 2026-27 is $104 million, McDavid would receive $20.8 million per season.
If that sounds pricey to you – and it is – take a good look around the NHL and understand that, if McDavid chose to become a UFA next summer, there would be a long lineup of teams prepared to offer him that amount of money.
McDavid is a singular talent and a generational and foundational player. Athletes of his caliber in other Big Four pro sports leagues do not make a habit of playing for less money than the market deems they’re worth. So there’s no denying McDavid is in line to make more money than anyone before him.
McDavid’s Oilers teammate and fellow icon Leon Draisaitl signed for $14 million per season when he signed his extension in September 2024. Although Draisaitl’s deal was for less than what he could’ve received as a UFA, you can’t keep asking your best players to accept less money than they otherwise would get from other teams.
It’s true the selling point from Oilers management would be that McDavid wants to win over and over again, and a contract discount allows for a more competitive team to be built around him and Draisaitl. But that’s not the captain’s problem to figure out.
Considering the salary cap is expected to rise to $104 million in 2026-27 and $113.5 million after that, there will be more room to fit McDavid if he asked for the maximum cap hit while keeping Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman and the rest of their core.
There are no guarantees that McDavid taking a small raise instead of a big one will result in the team finding more depth and having much more success. They can still win over and over again while McDavid earns what he's deserved.
Kaprizov Signs Wild Record NHL Deal… But What About McDavid?
Kirill Kaprizov has officially set the NHL high bar for NHL salaries, not <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/host-suggests-mcdavid-holding-shield-for-oilers-teammates">Connor McDavid</a>. And, based on the $136 million, $17M AAV deal the Minnesota Wild gave Kaprizov, he may stay the high bar.
If we were McDavid’s agent, and Oilers GM Stan Bowman asked for a discount, we’d respectfully request that Bowman get discounts out of Edmonton’s other players, not McDavid. He’s the best hockey player in the world, and if he’s not deserving of a max-value contract, who is?
Thus, McDavid shouldn’t feel wrong in the slightest to want all the money he can get on his next contract. He's worth every penny a team could possibly spend on him, and he deserves more than Kaprizov no matter exactly how much he winds up getting.
Kaprizov more or less got everything he was looking for with his new deal in Minnesota, and McDavid deserves at least as much money and then some. So McDavid should raise the financial bar for NHLers to unheard-of heights next year, and the Oilers should be thrilled to pay him what he’s worth.
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