Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers are facing a wild number in extension talk, with one outlet floating $23 million a year.
Spittin' Chiclets raised the figure this week, framing it as a realistic outcome for McDavid's next contract.
The account Bleed Oil Blue pushed back directly. "Personally, I don't see it," they wrote, while still calling McDavid deserving of the highest cap hit in the league.
That tension, between what McDavid is worth and what a record-setting deal would do to Edmonton's roster, is the real story here.
The numbers behind the speculation are not hard to find. McDavid posted 48 goals and 90 assists for 138 points over 82 games this past season.
That makes his current cap hit look almost quaint by comparison. McDavid is playing this season at $12.5 million.
A jump that steep would nearly double his cap number and reset the market for every star center behind him.
His current cap hit already looks like a bargain
Edmonton finished last season 41-30-11 for 93 points before a first-round exit to Anaheim in six games.
McDavid was held to 6 points over those 6 playoff games, a quiet finish that has little to do with his regular-season case for a record deal.
A number that big would also arrive right as Edmonton just installed Mike Babcock as its new head coach this summer.
Whatever term and dollars eventually get worked out between the two sides, the debate over how much is too much for a generational player is not going away quietly.
The original thread lays out the full argument in more detail than any single quote can capture.
-
That kind of price tag for the best player alive is not the outrageous part. Whether Edmonton can build a real contender around it is the actual question.
Would $23 million a year for Connor McDavid actually be too much?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Florida Panthers suspend team member indefinitely after arrest and release official statement
