NHL Network Analyst Projects 3 Destinations Connor McDavid Would Be 'Amenable To'

Saturday, August 22, 2026 , , , , ,
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With a potential decision coming for Connor McDavid in less than a year, many around the hockey world are wondering where McJesus could resurrect himself if he were to leave the Edmonton Oilers. 

Yes, he is starting a two-year extension this coming season, but most pundits suggest that if he does not sign another extension next summer, the Oilers will not want to go into the final year of his contract with so much uncertainty about whether he'll stay. So it makes sense to say that the countdown begins on Opening Night in September.

NHL Network analyst & host EJ Hradek has posited three potential destinations for McDavid, based on what he's heard from a couple of sources. 

Speaking on the Bleed Oil Blue podcast, Hradek said the following: 

I had heard through a couple of different sources... that IF he were to leave Edmonton and go somewhere else, that perhaps Philadelphia or Detroit would be locations that he would be amenable to. The Rangers also come up because they are going to have a lot of cap space, and it is New York, after all.  The Knicks just won the NBA title, and maybe after seeing something like that where there's an outpouring of love in New York, that could influence somebody to maybe do that. 

Hradek, however, then goes on to contradict his own reporting, in a sense, admitting that if McDavid were to leave Edmonton, "I think he's going to want to go somewhere where… He has a chance to win the ultimate prize. That's why he would leave."

No offense to any of those three teams mentioned, but none of the Flyers, Red Wings or Rangers are close to winning a Stanley Cup—and frankly, minor miracles aside, neither would they be a year from now. 

Others have tried to suggest that McDavid would want to go to the Toronto Maple Leafs or Montreal Canadiens. 

Toronto is home for the game's greatest player, so that rumor can't be totally dismissed. And the Habs rumors were given some legs this week when Arpon Basu wrote in The Athletic, "the Canadiens would be well-positioned to make a pitch that would satisfy both the Oilers in terms of adding young players and McDavid in terms of providing him with a chance to win."

Again, all of this talk has to be shelved for the time being, until we see whether the Oilers can return to true Cup contender status this season. 

After that, if they're not at that point, then all bets are off. 

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