Did Connor McDavid just open possibility of signing with Maple Leafs?

With every passing day the likelihood of Connor McDavid re-signing with the Edmonton Oilers shrinks and he might have just let the world know that he’s open to signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

At a media availability during Team Canada’s Olympic orientation camp, McDavid was, of course, asked about his pending unrestricted free agency status as he heads into the final year of his contract with the Oilers. While the full answer was not available, we were given a glimpse into his response and it certainly seems like it came from someone that is not really dying to stay in Edmonton.

Sure, the phrasing of “winning in Edmonton” might be saying that he wants to remain an Oiler. But that’s without the necessary context of everything going on.

Thanks to the folks at Sportsnet, we got McDavid’s full answer, though.

“I said at the end of June, that I have every intention to take my time with it, and I still feel the same way,” McDavid said about extension talks. “I’ll take my time and go through everything. I have every intention to win in Edmonton – that’s my only focus, and maybe next would be to win a gold medal with Canada.

“That is my intention, to win there. Take my time to go through it with my family, my agent, everybody involved. So, we’re going through it slowly.”

McDavid was then asked whether or not it’s his preference to go into the season with or without a contract extension done.

“All options are on the table. Like I said, we’re going through it. I don’t have a preference either way – I want the group to be as dialed in and ready to roll on Day 1 and we don’t need any distractions.”

The Oilers are not addressing the one position that is causing them the most grief: Goaltending. And without them doing that, they cannot be taken seriously as the best player on the planet remains unsigned. McDavid is sitting, waiting for Oilers general manager Stan Bowman to do anything to upgrade the position – whether it is trade for a bona fide starter or overpay for a young, projectable netminder to support Stuart Skinner.

And now, as we head into the 2025-26 NHL season without him under contract for the next one, he will face an unrelenting pile of questions about his future and with every answer he might get more and more drawn to returning home.

While there was no direct mention of the Maple Leafs, with Toronto’s reliable solution in between the pipes and none of the same issues that McDavid has to deal with in Edmonton, there might be an easy end to all of this.