The Stanley Cup Playoffs will, once again, end without the Edmonton Oilers being awarded the game’s greatest prize.
That in and of itself isn’t a shocking statement. The last several seasons have ended without Edmonton winning a Cup, but the timing feels a little early this go around.
Two postseasons in a row, the Oilers made deep playoff runs, coming within mere minutes of winning the whole thing back in 2024.
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But this year, before the calendar had even flipped to May in Alberta, the Oilers were planning vacations instead of parade routes.
Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid waits for play to resume during the first period of an NHL game against the Minnesota Wild in St. Paul, Minn., on Dec. 20, 2025. (Abbie Parr/AP)
Edmonton ran into a high-powered scoring machine in the Anaheim Ducks and couldn’t muster up the offense to hang with them, being eliminated in six games on Thursday night.
All of this begs the question, though: What happens to superstar Connor McDavid?
The man they call McJesus isn’t getting any younger (he just turned 29 in January), and although he clearly has plenty left in the tank, there is a chance he starts to notice his clock is ticking.
If he thinks he has a better chance to win a Stanley Cup and cement his legacy elsewhere, he could be as good as gone from western Canada.
Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid skates against the Calgary Flames during the second period at Scotiabank Saddledome on Dec. 27, 2025. (Sergei Belski/Imagn Images)
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Sure, he signed a two-year extension this past offseason, but what you just saw was year one of said extension, and the Oilers are farther away from winning a Cup than they have been in years.
McDavid noticed this, too, calling Edmonton “an average team all year.”
I’m sure when McDavid signed that two-year deal back in October, he wasn’t doing so to come play for an average team.
And what about the other side of the equation?
The Oilers have to sense McDavid’s angst and frustration, and there’s a chance they get out in front of this thing and trade their talisman for a king’s ransom before he has a chance to bolt as a free agent and leave them high and dry.
Do I think the Oilers want to trade McDavid? No, nor do I think McDavid will up and leave in a year and change without any warning.
There is a lot of mutual respect there.
But this is a business at the end of the day, and the Oilers might not be living up to their end of the bargain.
Outside of fellow winger Leon Draisaitl and (occasionally) top-flight D-man Evan Bouchard, Edmonton doesn’t exactly have the depth to compete at a championship level.
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Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers celebrate a goal during the first period against the Florida Panthers in Game Two of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, on June 6, 2025. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Then there’s the goaltending piece.
Yes, they went out and got Tristan Jary after years of AHL-level netminding, but that felt like putting Neosporin on a knife wound.
These next 14 months will be tense, and, eventually, something will have to give.
One thing is for sure, though. After Thursday’s lackluster showing in Anaheim, the people of Edmonton are staring down the barrel of a long offseason.
