McDavid considering ‘all options’ for potential Oilers contract extension

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid says he’s going to take his time to decide on his future with the club.

The face of the Edmonton Oilers and the National Hockey League says he’s going to take his time to decide on his future with the club.

Echoing what he’s said in recent weeks, Connor McDavid said Friday “all options are on the table” when it comes to talks of a contract extension with the Oilers, the team that drafted him 10 years ago and that he’s led to two Stanley Cup finals in a row.

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“When you’re trying to plan the next three, four, six, seven, nine years of your life, you don’t just dream it up in one day,” McDavid told media after a so-called captain’s skate at the Downtown Community Arena adjacent to Rogers Place, home of the Oilers. “You take your time, talk it over, think about it some more, talk it over again. It’s not something that I take lightly.”

The 28-year-old captain has a year left on his contract, with the NHL team’s annual training camp set to begin in less than two weeks.

The three-time NHL most-valuable player will enter the final season of an eight-year, US$100-million contract he signed in 2017 when the puck drops on the Oilers’ season on Oct. 8.

McDavid would be eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer.

“We’re trying to come up with a solution that works for everybody,” McDavid said. “I’ve put everything I have into (playing hockey) and deserve to be paid what I feel is fair. With that being said, this is a salary cap, and my only desire is to win, so trying to figure out that balance is tricky.”

That balance will include, as mentioned, “all options,” including contract length, he said.

“Short term, long term, no term. It’s all options on the table.”

McDavid said last month at Canada’s Olympic hockey orientation session in Calgary that he hasn’t ruled out starting Oilers training camp without an extension.

The Oilers have reached the Stanley Cup final the last two seasons, losing to the Florida Panthers both times.

McDavid — a five-time league scoring champ — scored 26 goals and 74 assists for 100 points in 67 games last season, adding seven goals and 26 assists for 33 points in 22 playoff games.

He scored the overtime winner for Canada over the U.S. in February’s 4 Nations Face-Off final.