Oilers' Connor McDavid gets shorter-term, $16 million per year contract update

Connor McDavid is entering the final year of his contract with the Edmonton Oilers.

The NHL world doesn't seem to have any doubt that a new deal will get done. All the questions have to do with what it'll look like.

How much money will McDavid get per year? And how many years will he choose to sign for.

He can take the eight-year route and just be set. Or he can go with a shorter deal that allows him to sign another big-money contract sooner.

NHL insider Frank Seravelli provided his thoughts on the matter in a question-and-answer session on Tuesday.

In summary, Seravelli thinks McDavid will go for a four-year deal for at least $16 million per year.

Here's Seravelli's entire answer:

If I were looking at the Connor McDavid situation, as best I can handicap it at this point in time, my guess is that it's not going to be an eight-year deal. It'll be less than that, probably four. Somewhere between $16 and $17.5 million in AAV. Those are just ballparks. That's the best I can glean at this moment in time.

Not even really confident in saying completely that it's gonna be a four-year deal. I think it makes sense to just get eight and just be done with it. If you're Connor McDavid, the last thing you want to do is go through this again.

He has so much leverage and control that if he decides after four years or three years or whatever that the Edmonton Oilers aren't getting it done and he's not gonna have a chance to win there, the best player in the world raises his hand and says, "I want out," they're gonna have no choice but to make it happen. I don't think signing a shorter-term deal lights a fire under Edmonton any quicker than anything else.

That's a lot of good insight. McDavid certainly is in the driver's seat here.

Edmonton pretty much has to do what its generational superstar wants.

Most of all, McDavid surely wants a Stanley Cup after coming so close the past couple seasons. He'll likely take a contract route that leads on the best path toward the Cup.

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