Jeff O'Neill doesn't see Connor McDavid staying with the Edmonton Oilers past his current deal. Asked for a percentage, he went straight to the floor.
"I think it's zero," O'Neill said on OverDrive this week.
His reasoning rests on what he says the superstar told the organization. "He told them: I got 2 years here, and if we don't win a Cup, I'm gonna do it somewhere else."
That's a heavy thing to put on a franchise. O'Neill also referenced an assistant captain warning the room, "look around here, we've got 2 years."
It's O'Neill's read, not an announcement. But when a voice this loud attaches a number like zero, it lands in Edmonton like a fire alarm.
And zero is too cute. One deep spring can change a player's plans, and O'Neill is treating a two-year window like a signed resignation letter.
Mike Babcock inherits a two-year window, if O'Neill is right
Babcock was hired in June, so his first camp now doubles as the start of a countdown.
The results so far are clean. The Oilers are 3-0 this preseason after Thursday's 2-1 win in Vancouver.
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Isaac Howard had a goal and an assist in that one, and Quinn Hutson scored the winner. Tristan Jarry stopped 25 of 26.
The money tells its own story. McDavid carries a $12,500,000 cap hit, while Leon Draisaitl sits at $14,000,000.
Evan Bouchard's $10,500,000 rounds out a core that isn't built to wait around. Stan Bowman is paying for right now.
It's an hourglass sitting on the mantel. Everybody in the room can see the sand moving, even if nobody mentions it at dinner.
Would a player really walk away from all this? O'Neill thinks that answer is already written.
Edmonton hosts Calgary on Saturday and opens the regular season Tuesday at home against Vancouver.
If O'Neill is right, every loss this season carries extra weight. And the first one in October will get picked apart like a verdict on McDavid's future.
Is Jeff O'Neill right that Connor McDavid leaves Edmonton without a Cup?
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