Connor McDavid signs 8-year extension with Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers have signed star center Connor McDavid to a record setting eight-year extension worth nine figures.

Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers has become the first player in the post 2013-lockout era to sign a deal worth over nine figures. According to TSN, McDavid signed an 8-year, $100 million extension with Edmonton today, keeping him with the Oilers until at least 2024.

The deal, which won’t come into effect until the 2018-19 season, has the 20-year-old reigning league MVP making roughly $12.5 million per year. Once it kicks in, McDavid will become the highest paid player in the NHL, surpassing Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Anze Kopitar, all of whom currently have eight-figure salaries.

In terms of total contract, McDavid signed the third-most lucrative deal in NHL history, only being beaten out by Alex Ovechkin and Shea Weber, who signed their contracts before the collective bargaining agreement restricted teams to eight-year contracts when signing their own player.

Edmonton Oilers

This contract is coming at the right time for a player who has made it clear that he is committed to playing in Edmonton and being the face of not only the franchise but the league. McDavid, who just finished his first full season after having his rookie year cut short by injury in 2015-16, has his best days ahead of him.

Although he scooped up nearly every award he was eligible for this season, McDavid, like any player, still has some improvements to make to his game. Making these improvements and having the security of growing as a player without the stress of uprooting himself and starting over in a new city was just as big a part of the deal for McDavid as keeping arguably the best player in the league in Edmonton was for GM Peter Chiarelli.

Chiarelli said in a press conference this afternoon that he has “full confidence” in McDavid to lead the Oilers for the next eight years. With a talented-in-their-own-right supporting cast around him on the ice and a hopefully stable coaching staff, it seems evident that McDavid will be hoisting the Stanley Cup in the near future.

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It came at a very hefty price, but the Oilers had to make it happen. McDavid will be worth every penny of what he gets paid even before factoring in marketability.