Connor McDavid isn't leaving Edmonton in Wayne Gretzky's eyes, but Mike Babcock and the Oilers still face a serious test.
Gretzky opened up on McDavid's future during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, addressing the question that continues to hang over Edmonton despite the captain's current contract.
His message sounded reassuring. Gretzky called McDavid a mainstay in Edmonton and said he doesn't see the superstar leaving. But his reasoning came with an important condition: the Oilers must remain capable of winning.
That's where the pressure shifts back onto the organization. McDavid is playing the first season of a two-year extension carrying a $12.5 million cap hit, and he can become extension-eligible again on July 1, 2027.
Gretzky knows McDavid well, and he made the captain's priority clear. He said nobody wants a championship more than McDavid, while pointing directly at the Stanley Cup as the major prize still missing.
The clip shows Gretzky smiling through the early Pittsburgh and Florida chatter before his expression and delivery tighten when the conversation turns to McDavid staying in Edmonton.
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Gretzky puts the pressure back on Edmonton
The bigger takeaway isn't that Gretzky expects McDavid to leave. It's that his confidence is tied directly to Edmonton continuing to give its captain a legitimate path to the Cup.
That carries more weight after the Oilers reached consecutive Stanley Cup Finals in 2024 and 2025, then went out in the first round last season. The standard around this group has changed.
McDavid has already delivered individual hardware at a historic rate. He owns six Art Ross Trophies, while his 1.54 career points per game ranks third in NHL history.
But Edmonton's next chapter will be judged differently. Babcock is now behind the bench, and Stan Bowman controls the front office as the Oilers try to keep a championship-calibre roster around their captain.
Gretzky's comments don't create an immediate contract crisis. They underline the condition that matters most: Edmonton has to keep giving McDavid a reason to believe this roster can finish the job.
That makes every major roster decision, playoff exit and postseason run more meaningful. Gretzky believes McDavid wants Edmonton. Now the Oilers have to keep Edmonton positioned as the place where he can win.
Will Connor McDavid finish his NHL career with the Edmonton Oilers?
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