Wayne Gretzky doesn't see Connor McDavid ever leaving the Edmonton Oilers. He said it Wednesday, and he said it without blinking.
The Great One made the call on The Pat McAfee Show, less than a day after McDavid set up two goals in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Canucks.
His reasoning was simple. The Oilers superstar loves Edmonton, and as long as the club has a shot to go all the way every season, Gretzky says that's all he needs to stay.
Warm words. But they come with a condition, and that condition is the part Oilers fans should read twice.
Because a chance to win every season gets measured in bodies and dollars, and GM Stan Bowman is the one signing the cheques.
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No. 97 carries a $12,500,000 cap hit, 10th highest in the league. Leon Draisaitl sits above him at $14,000,000, and Evan Bouchard eats another $10,500,000 on the blue line.
Think of a guy who loves his house but keeps checking the foundation. The view keeps him there. A cracked slab is what gets the realtor on the phone.
Tristan Jarry's rough opener puts the Oilers' crease on notice
Tuesday night showed a crack. Tristan Jarry stopped 17 of 23 shots and finished with a .739 save percentage in front of the home crowd.
That wasted a monster night from Bouchard, who scored three goals and added two assists from the back end. Vasily Podkolzin chipped in two more, one on the power play.
Five goals on home ice should bank two points. Edmonton banked one.
McDavid did his part, logging 22:51, going plus-1 and feeding two goals. He also didn't put a single shot on net, which is rare enough to circle.
Here's where Gretzky's framing gets uncomfortable. It ties the future of the league's best player to Bowman's goaltending decisions, and on opening night that looked like a bad bet.
Mike Babcock took over behind the bench in June. He now inherits a team that just scored five and still couldn't close the door.
So what happens the first season Edmonton isn't a real threat in the West?
The next test comes Thursday night in Vancouver, the back half of a quick home-and-home against a Canucks group that already beat them once this season.
Gretzky knows McDavid as well as anyone in the game. He also just told everyone exactly what it would take to lose him.
Can the Oilers keep Connor McDavid in Edmonton with Tristan Jarry as their starter?
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