It’s been a summer of swirling speculation, looming deadlines, and more than a few sleepless nights for Edmonton Oilers fans. As the calendar inches closer to the opening puck drop of the 2025-26 NHL season, the city’s collective anxiety is focused squarely on the uncertain future of their captain, Connor McDavid. Despite months of anticipation and hope, McDavid remains unsigned, and every day that passes without a contract extension amplifies the tension in northern Alberta.
The Oilers faithful have grown accustomed to seeing their superstar center lead the team both on and off the ice, but as of August 28, 2025, there’s been no tangible progress in extension talks. McDavid himself has been tight-lipped, offering only a blunt dismissal of trade rumors but little else to calm the nerves of an anxious fanbase. The silence is deafening—save for the imagined sound of a pen scratching across a contract, a noise that would surely echo like the Rogers Place goal horn in overtime.
Insider Chris Johnston, speaking via TSN, offered a sobering prediction: “If you had to pin me down, my guess is the season will start without [McDavid] signing an extension.” That’s not the reassurance Oilers fans were hoping for. Instead, it’s a reminder that the specter of uncertainty will hang over the team as they embark on a campaign that could define the future of the entire organization.
The stakes? They couldn’t be higher. If McDavid enters the 2025-26 season without a contract past July 1, 2026, every Oilers game will be played under the microscope. Every misstep, every losing streak, every locker room rumor could be blown out of proportion. Instead of focusing solely on chasing the Stanley Cup, the Oilers might find themselves playing to convince their captain to stay in Edmonton—a scenario that’s as stressful for the front office as it is for the fans.
Money, it seems, is not the issue. The Oilers have made it clear they’re willing to pay whatever number McDavid’s camp puts on the table—although, naturally, the cheaper the better. There’s no sense of lowballing here; the franchise knows the value of their generational talent. But the longer the wait, the more leverage McDavid holds, and the more the narrative shifts from championship aspirations to existential dread about the team’s future.
And McDavid isn’t the only NHL star with an uncertain future. Around the league, contract drama is brewing. Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel and Minnesota Wild left winger Kirill Kaprizov are both eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer, and their situations are drawing increasing attention. For Eichel, there’s been little movement on extension talks, and analysts like Anthony Di Marco have speculated that the rising salary cap could push his next deal north of $12.6 million annually. The Golden Knights, with a projected $20.375 million in cap space for 2026-27—and potentially another $8.8 million if Alex Pietrangelo remains on long-term injured reserve—have the financial flexibility to make it work, but nothing is certain yet.
Kaprizov’s case is just as intriguing. After the Wild re-signed RFA center Marco Rossi last week, all eyes turned to the electrifying winger. Di Marco believes Kaprizov is poised to become the highest-paid winger in the NHL, but wonders if Wild GM Bill Guerin is ready to break the bank. Wild owner Craig Leipold, speaking back in October 2024, was bullish about keeping Kaprizov in Minnesota, boasting that no other team could offer more money or a longer term. Still, as the months drag on without a deal, the pressure mounts.
Meanwhile, in Calgary, the Flames are facing their own roster uncertainty. Defenseman Rasmus Andersson, a key piece of the blue line, has been the subject of trade rumors since contract extension talks broke down in June. Flames captain Mikael Backlund, speaking during the NHL player media tour in Europe this August, didn’t mince words: “Yeah, he’s getting traded. It’s obvious.” Backlund added that Andersson doesn’t want the situation to be a distraction, encouraging his teammate to focus on playing and let the chips fall where they may. With the March 2026 trade deadline looming, it appears increasingly likely that Andersson’s days in Calgary are numbered.
Back in Edmonton, the uncertainty isn’t limited to the front office. On the ice, the Oilers are also sweating the health of forward Zach Hyman, whose surgically repaired right wrist has cast doubt on his availability for the season opener against the Flames on October 8. Hyman, who had surgery on May 28 after a collision with Dallas Stars forward Mason Marchment in the Western Conference Final, is still recovering and doesn’t yet know if he’ll be ready for opening night. “Have one more meeting with the surgeon to wrap it up, which is great,” Hyman told NHL.com at Hockey Canada’s 2025 National Teams Orientation Camp. “Will I be ready for the start of the season? I don’t know. But I’m on the right track, which is good. The fact that I don’t know is a good thing because it could be, ‘No, I’m not.’”
Hyman’s absence was keenly felt during the Oilers’ playoff run, as he missed the remainder of the postseason after his injury. He had notched 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 15 playoff games and led the 2025 playoffs with 111 hits—just 15 short of the single-postseason record set by Blake Coleman in 2020. Despite a challenging regular season marred by injuries, including a concussion and a shattered nose, Hyman remains a vital part of Edmonton’s plans and is still on Hockey Canada’s radar for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina. He was invited to the 2025 National Teams Orientation Camp despite his ongoing recovery, a testament to his resilience and reputation as a locker room anchor.
“It was miserable,” Hyman said of watching the playoffs from the sidelines. “It’s very horrible, very hard. No matter what you’re stressed whether you’re up or down. You have no control. You’re helpless. At the same time you’re trying to keep it all together and be supportive for the guys who are playing. So when I wasn’t around them I was a stress case, and when I was I just tried to be an emotional support system, anchor for those guys.”
As the Oilers prepare for a season filled with promise and peril, the questions swirling around McDavid’s contract status, Hyman’s health, and the fate of other NHL stars like Eichel, Kaprizov, and Andersson ensure that the drama is far from over. Every shift, every press conference, and every off-ice rumor will be dissected as the league’s biggest names weigh their futures and franchises hold their collective breath.
For now, Edmonton fans must do what they’ve done all summer—wait, hope, and brace themselves for whatever comes next. With so much at stake, the 2025-26 NHL season promises to be one for the ages, both on the ice and behind the scenes.
