Elliotte Friedman makes bold prediction about Connor McDavid's future as Oilers superstar enters contract year

Connor McDavid’s future with the Edmonton Oilers has been a big topic following his team's second straight Stanley Cup finals against the Florida Panthers. While trade speculations have started surfacing, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman doesn’t believe McDavid wants to leave and discussed it on the 32 Thoughts podcast on Friday.

Friedman said he doesn’t think McDavid will leave the Oilers, as he is happy in Edmonton.

"I don't think Connor McDavid is eager to flee Northern Alberta," Friedman said. [3:33 onwards] "I don't think he's really interested in doing that. I think he's got a good setup there."

The Oilers - who made the Stanley Cup Final in back-to-back seasons - lost 4-2 to the Panthers this year. Injuries and goaltending problems made things more complicated for Edmonton. Still, Connor McDavid led the playoffs with 33 points in 22 games, tied with teammate Leon Draisaitl for the lead.

Friedman pointed out that McDavid and Draisaitl have a strong bond. He also said that McDavid has good relationships with other players on the team.

"You know him and Draisaitl, you need depth, but you also need superstar talent, and you can't do better than Draisaitl and McDavid to start, right? They like each other," Friedman said. "He's got good relationships with a lot of players on that team."

"And he also sees that they’ve been to the Stanley Cup Final two years in a row, and they've lost to an absolute buzzsaw. And so I think he recognizes all of that."

In the regular season, McDavid scored 26 goals and 74 assists for 100 points. This was his eighth hundred-point season, the only active player in the league to do so.

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Connor McDavid's move speculation after Tkachuk's comment

After the Stanley Cup Final, Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk's comment on Connor McDavid fueled speculations about his move out of Edmonton.

"When you have a player that good and that talented, (McDavid) is going to win (the Stanley Cup) one day," Tkachuk said, via Gino Hard on X (formerly Twitter). "Wherever it is."

Connor McDavid has played with the Oilers for his entire 10-year NHL career. He will enter the final year of his eight-year, $100 million contract and can sign an extension on July 1. So far, no news has come out about a new deal.

The Edmonton Oilers still have a strong roster and a rising salary cap. So, new general manager Stan Bowman will try to keep the team in contention. Hence, there is currently no clear indication that he wants to leave Edmonton.