When Connor McDavid stripped off his hockey gear last June, his team two goals away from a Stanley Cup championship, the Edmonton Oilers were on the verge of a potentially devastating exodus.
Leon Draisaitl, heading into the final year away of his contract, wasn’t going to be here past the trade deadline without a new deal and a handful of key depth forwards were free to turn their post-season success into hefty pay raises on the open market.
Fast forward two months and Draisaitl is locked in for eight more years, Adam Henrique, Mattias Janmark, Connor Brown and Corey Perry chose Edmonton over money, free agents Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson did likewise and the Oilers forward group is even stronger than it was before.
McDavid said there is a very different landscape in Oilers country, than the one he remembers from the dark days of the rebuild.
“It’s definitely changed,” said the Oilers captain after Tuesday morning’s unofficial team skate at their downtown practice rink.
“It changed for the better and it’s a credit to a lot of people, starting with the Katz family, first and foremost. The investments they’ve put in, not only to the downtown area, but the rink and the building and how they treat the players. Everything is first class.
“We’re treated really well. They take care of any and all worries for the players. I think guys appreciate that and it translates to success on the ice, I believe. If the players are well taken care of they have nothing else to do other than worry about playing hockey.”
Asked about Draisaitl saying he wants to be an Oiler for life, and putting his money where his mouth is with an eight-year extension, McDavid says it’s a big relief for everyone concerned. And, when it comes to the Oilers, ‘everyone concerned’ is pretty much the entire city.
“He sent me a text to let me know ahead of time. It’s great, I’m really happy for him and his family. It’s well-deserved. He deserves every penny. I’m happy he’s here for a really long time.
“It’s exciting for him, for the organization and fans. It’s exciting for everybody. It’s something he doesn’t have to worry about. He doesn’t have to answer that question anymore. It’s good for him.”
McDavid isn’t going to comment on what his own plans are when he’s eligible to renegotiate his contact next July, only that he isn’t going to let it become a daily soap opera.
“It’s something that I’m not going to deal with. It’s a question I’ll answer once: I’m worried about this year and being ready for the season, both myself personally and the group. That’s where my focus is at, it’s not on anything else. That stuff takes care of itself, it’s not something I’m worried about.”
Having said that, McDavid totally gets why players want to lock in for life, play here for less and bring up their family in Edmonton. Nobody understands better than he does why Edmonton has grown into a destination city in the NHL.
“Winning helps,” he said. “Being part of a winning team goes a long way. The building helps. You spend half your time, maybe more, in the rink. And our building is completely first class.
“And for people who haven’t experienced Edmonton and don’t know Edmonton, it’s really easy living, it’s convenient living. There is no hour-long drive, there’s no traffic. The construction could be better but … it’s really convenient living. It’s stress-free living. It checks a lot of boxes for a lot of guys.
“It’s not the beach or beautiful weather all the time but we’re here to play hockey and be a part of something and guys want to do that.”
Ask Arvidsson. He walked away from sunny Los Angeles to sign a two-year contract with the Oilers worth $4-million a year ($250,000) less than he made with the Kings.
Why?
“It’s their hunger to win,” he said. “I’m at the point in my career where I see myself doing that. It was a no-brainer when they wanted to make a deal. It’s great to be here.”
After facing them in the playoffs two years in a row, he has a pretty good sense of what he’s getting himself into and he likes the possibilities.
“They can show you so many different things offensively with the firepower up front and they were so good on the PK when we played them last year. They basically had everything. I just want to be able to come in and contribute to that.
“They’re at a point here, we’re at a point here, where we’re pushing for a Stanley Cup.”
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