Oilers Retain Their Captain Connor McDavid With $105M Deal

NHL analysts predicted that the Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid would be retained for a figure close to $106 million and it appears that they were almost on point. The Oilers confirmed that they had signed an 8 year agreement with McDavid for a $105 million – that is a payout of $12.5 million a year – making him the highest paid NHL player in the league at the moment.

The 20 year old was first signed by the Oilers in 2015 and it did not take him very long to shine and put his talent on display. He soon took on the leadership role and was rated the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for this season, winning the prestigious Hart Trophy. The NHL has a salary cap of $75 million on each team and if that were to remain for the next season, it would mean that the Oilers have already spent 16.6 percent of their purse on McDavid. The Oilers are also looking to retain Leon Draisail who is currently a restricted free agent and will also command a huge purse according to analysts.

Peter Chiarelli, the General Manager for the Edmonton Oilers is keen to put together a winning combination that will work closely together and bring home many Stanley Cups. Chiarelli stated that McDavid’s deal could have been a lot higher and for a shorter period of time. However it was made easier for the Oilers given the fact that McDavid was keen on remaining with them and leading the team.

In a statement, Chiarelli said

Part of this partnership was talking about building a team, and Connor was emphatic as was I about keeping this team competitive. There are challenges at every juncture when you are building a winning team in the salary cap era. Connor recognizes that, Jeff Jackson (McDavid's agent) recognizes that and we're confident we'll be able to ice a winning team, one that can contend and win the Cup.

McDavid who scored 100 points during the last season stated that he was happy to sign a long contract with the Edmonton Oilers and was keen to wear the jersey again and start the next season. The star player wasn’t very keen to discuss the numbers on his lucrative contract but was more interested to talk about the future of the Oilers and was confident that he could lead the team well under the leadership of coach Todd McLellan.