Oilers GM Bowman, executive Jackson in Ontario to talk with McDavid's representatives
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The Edmonton Oilers' management team has started working towards an extension with superstar Connor McDavid.
General manager Stan Bowman and CEO of hockey operations Jeff Jackson travelled to Ontario to meet with McDavid's agent Judd Moldaver on Tuesday, per TSN's Ryan Rishaug.
Rishaug notes that the discussion is going to start surrounding broader directions about the organization and direction, rather than discussing concrete contract numbers early on.
McDavid, 28, is coming off a season in which he scored 26 goals and finished with 100 points. McDavid led all players in assists (26) and points (33) in the playoffs, where he helped lead the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Final for the second consecutive season - where they fell to the Florida Panthers for the second time in two years.
McDavid is a three-time Hart Trophy winner, a seven-time All-Star and has led the NHL in points in five of his 10 NHL seasons.
Bowman spoke earlier in the off-season about how important an extension for McDavid, who is entering the final year of an eight-year, $100 million contract, is to the team before the beginning of next year.
"Connor’s the best player in the league, the most important player in the league,” Bowman told reporters. “He’s our captain, he’s our leader, so certainly, he’s the number one priority.
"I think also listening to Connor’s take on things, he’s earned the right for us to be respectful of his timing. Certainly, we’re eager to meet with him whenever he wants, but we also understand he just went through a really rough ending to the season. So, timing-wise, Connor’s going to drive that process, but there’s no question he’s a pivotal player on our team and not just what he does on the ice, but his leadership.
“I’ve had a chance to work with him now this year and have just been so impressed with things you guys probably don’t see - how good of a teammate he is. He’s incredibly important to our group, and whenever he’s ready, we’re going to dive into that.”
His comments come one day after McDavid said he's feeling no pressure to get an extension worked out for July 1, when he will officially enter the final year of his current deal.
"It's only been a couple days since the season ended," McDavid told reporters at the team's season-ending availability. "Take some time to regroup. Talk to my agent a little bit, and family and all that, and make some decisions whenever that time comes. But there's no rush."
When asked what his focus is on when committing to his future on his next deal, McDavid replied that claiming his first career Stanley Cup trumps all else.
"Winning would be at the top of the list,” McDavid said. “It's the most important thing. If I feel that there's a good window to win here, over and over again, then signing is no problem.
"It's only been a couple of days. I'm sure we'll get into it over the course of the next couple of weeks, but I'm not in a rush to make any decision, so I don't think that there needs to be any timeline. I know people are going to look at that July 1 day and be looking to see if there's anything done. But for me, I'm just not in a rush that way."
Rishaug also noted that he does not expect a resolution on a potential extension to come early in the off-season, with the potential for the negotiations to stretch into the summer a looming possibility.