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The clock is ticking.
And while that seems clear enough from the outside, it's also true within the building for the Edmonton Oilers when it comes to Connor McDavid.
Leon Draisaitl held his exit interview with local media on Saturday after the Oilers' season ended Thursday night in Anaheim in the first round of the playoffs.
Naturally, the German star was asked about the Oilers' captain McDavid.
First, he said this: "We need to be better. We have to be better."
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And then he put a timeline on it: "We have two years. We have to get significantly better."
It's not that Draisaitl said anything drastically new here, but it's the outward acknowledgement that makes a notable point.
McDavid signed a contract extension before the 2025-26 season that added two years to what was an expiring deal. Now, he is set to be a free agent after the 2027-28 season.
So the implication is that McDavid doesn't necessarily plan on sticking around after that. It was an easy enough thing to assume when he signed for that length and not longer, but Draisaitl has now said the quiet part out loud.
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McDavid still doesn't have a Stanley Cup, and he'll turn 30 before next year's postseason. In some ways, he's running out of time on his prime.
The Oilers lost in the Stanley Cup Finals each of the past two seasons, but this year, it was a first-round exit.
No one can be happy with that, and it brings into focus the sense of urgency that needs to be had with McDavid. If Edmonton doesn't figure things out in a hurry, McDavid could be gone.
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