Insider Pierre LeBrun has been adamant in his stance that if Connor McDavid and the Oilers flame out early this postseason, his future in Edmonton could come into question much sooner than many anticipated after he initially signed an extension.
For the third time in recent weeks, LeBrun reiterated that sentiment during an appearance on The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro, urging fans to keep a close eye on how McDavid and the Oilers fare the rest of this season.
“If they don’t get going and if they lose out in the first round after being in the Stanley Cup Finals two years in a row… Connor McDavid, I think people misunderstood when he signed a two-year extension that it definitely meant he was in Edmonton through 2028. Hold on for a second here. That’s not what he was saying when he signed a two-year extension. At the very least, in the summer of 2027 for sure, the plan is for McDavid and his agent Judd Moldaver to huddle with Oilers management and say, alright, are we still a contender? Are we still going for Cups here?… What I’m saying, though, is if they get smoked in the first round, let’s say in a short series… I mean, I don’t know. How do you think the best player in the world is going to feel? I still think he gives them another year, but Edmonton is a team to keep an eye on here, honestly,”
The 29-year-old McDavid, of course, signed said two-year, $25 million extension with the Oilers back in October, which begins in 2026-27 and runs through the 2027–28 campaign.
Enter the Montreal Canadiens for Connor McDavid?
While LeBrun didn’t go as far as to mention any potential landing spots for McDavid, it is notable that he discussed the topic on a Montreal-based podcast, who stirred the pot even further with the caption they used for the clip shared on X (formerly Twitter).
“Come to think of it, the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge would look really good on Connor McDavid…,”
The Canadiens would obviously still need things to go poorly — at least by their expectations — for McDavid and the Oilers the rest of this season and potentially next. That being said, it certainly won’t be easy for Edmonton to get back to another Stanley Cup Final, and we know anything short of that will raise questions about the future of the best player in the world.
Should we reach that point, there may not be many better landing spots than Montreal. The Canadiens offer the opportunity to play in one of the best markets in the league, on an up-and-coming team that is set to contend for the foreseeable future. Not to mention, GM Kent Hughes — one of the more aggressive managers in the game — possesses the cap space, draft picks, young players, and prospects to pull off a potential trade with Edmonton should McDavid give the organization the heads-up that he plans to leave.
Edmonton could very well go on another deep run in 2025-26, especially given the weak state of the Pacific Division. That said, it’s hard to say they look like true contenders right now, so unless that drastically changes over the next month, the Oilers and GM Stan Bowman could be heading into what may be the most important offseason of the McDavid–Leon Draisaitl era.
Next: Insider Predicts a Big, Interesting Offseason for the Oilers
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