How Connor McDavid’s Extension Set Off a Wave of Big-Money Deals

Now that Oilers superstar Connor McDavid has signed his contract extension with Edmonton, other player deals are quickly falling into place around the NHL. 

McDavid completed a two-year, $25 million pact on Monday with the Oilers, resolving a summer full of uncertainty surrounding the three-time Most Valuable Player. As McDavid signed a team-friendly pact designed to extend Edmonton’s window to compete for a Stanley Cup, he also easily could have pushed the envelope much further on the NHL’s salary scale—similar to what the Wild’s Kirill Kaprizov did last week in a record-setting $136 million pact.

With McDavid’s deal in place, other newly minted contracts include:

• An eight-year, $108 million extension between Jack Eichel and the Golden Knights, keeping him with Vegas through the 2033–34 season. Already a Stanley Cup winner, Eichel often has been linked and compared with McDavid since being selected second behind him in the 2015 NHL draft. 
• An eight-year, $96 million deal between the Jets and forward Kyle Connor, which is the largest player contract in franchise history. The agreement also represents a major statement by owner Mark Chipman on the Jets’ future as the team competes in the NHL’s smallest market but is looking to follow up on last year’s Presidents’ Trophy.  
• The Oilers signed defenseman Jake Walman to a seven-year, $49 million extension. 
• Edmonton also signed defenseman Mattias Ekholm to a three-year, $12 million extension as the Oilers move with urgency between now and 2028, when the McDavid deal expires.

“Two years makes a lot of sense, gives us a chance to continue to chase down what we’ve been chasing down here with the core guys who have been here,” McDavid said after signing his agreement. “A little bit of money [for the team] to work with, too. I think the deal makes sense for both sides.”

The contracts also seek to take advantage, at least to some degree, of a fast-rising NHL salary cap that reflects the growing strength of the league as it begins the 2025–26 season this week.

With the run of signings, a 2026 free-agency class that could have included McDavid, Eichel, Connor, and Kaprizov (and would have been unprecedented in its star power) is now substantially altered.