Major news hit the NHL on Monday that the Edmonton Oilers signed Connor McDavid to a contract extension. The entire NHL had been waiting for that development for a while, primarily to sort of set the market for some other players. While the Avalanche are one of those teams (with Martin Necas), it also brings up the thought about Nathan MacKinnon’s extension making him the king.
McDavid’s adapted contract comes in at eight years worth $12.5 million AAV. Comparably, MacKinnon is locked in for eight years at $12.6 million at the time of signing.
I have made it clear that I am not a believer in signing multiple players to extensions worth more than $10 million, simply because it’s tough to spread the money around to form a winning team that way. MacKinnon has been worth every penny since his extension and there isn’t any sort of indication that he will be slowing down anytime soon.
MacKinnon signed his extension in 2022, and has six years remaining on the deal. McDavid is two years younger than MacKinnon, and was drafted two years after the Avs’ superstar, so the timing of the talks between MacKinnon and the Avs and McDavid and the Oilers just wasn’t going to be at the same time, though it does matter that the lengths of the two contracts were different.
MacKinnon has signed three contracts since being drafted by the Avalanche: His ELC in 2013, worth $11,325,000 over three years, his second contract at 7 years worth $6.3M in 2016, and his most recent extension from 2022 at $12.6M in over eight years.
Though a lot of people feel like MacKinnon was snubbed from another Hart trophy prior to the year he won it, McDavid has #29’s number when it comes to that award, as he has won three. The good thing about the timing here is that, like I said a bit ago, MacKinnon isn’t showing signs of slowing down. Therefore, you can never truly count him out of the Hart trophy race.
Perhaps the most important stat between the two players is that MacKinnon leads the postseason head-to-head at 4-0-0. The two players have met in the regular season 22 times, with McDavid’s Oilers leading the series 12-5-5 to 10-10-2. There are plenty of other factors in the final outcome of games, though.
When it’s all said and done, McDavid can actually end up being the better player. The way I look at it is that both teams have a major superstar on their team. For me, a Stanley Cup carries a lot of weight, so MacKinnon has McDavid’s number in that regard.
A lot of hockey is still to be played between these two players. What would be really fun is seeing another postseason series between Colorado and Edmonton. In the Avs’ championship-winning postseason in 2021-22, the Avalanche defeated the Oilers in four games, so you can add that into MacKinnon’s bid for being better when it matters most.
I don’t have concerns about the Avalanche’s chance of getting far into the playoffs, Similarly, the Oilers finished third in the Pacific Division, and still have Leon Draisaitl, too. I’m also more confident in MacKenzie Blackwood than I am of Stuart Skinner, so, unless Skinner has a breakout year, I think the Avs would win that series.
The ultimate prize is always a championship.