<a href='https://www.nhl.com/oilers/' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>The Edmonton Oilers</a> defined the future of their franchise last week when they signed Leon Draisaitl to a record-setting contract extension, and now it is McDavid's turn. <a href='https://www.hockeylatest.com/nhl-team/edmonton-oilers/leon-draisaitl-finally-agrees-to-long-term-extension-with-the-edmonton-oilers' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Draisaitl and the Oilers agreed to terms for an eight-year extension</a> that will kick in at the start of the 2025-26 season last week. The deal carries an average-annual-value of 14 million dollars, setting a new record for the largest contract in NHL history. More importantly, both sides agreed to get this deal done a year in advance so there will not be any speculation about his future heading into the trade deadline this season. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1830977107863712253'> </a></blockquote></div> Naturally, this has lead to speculation as to what the Oilers will do with Connor McDavid, who will be eligible to sign a deal on July 1st 2025 following Draisaitl's massive extension. Without a doubt, the team is looking to keep this group together as the one-two punch of McDavid and Draisaitl is by far the most effective in the entire NHL. Interestingly, <a href='https://www.sportsnet.ca/podcasts/32-thoughts/offseason-thoughts-for-all-32-teams/' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>NHL insider Elliotte Friedman recently addressed this in his latest episode of the 32 thoughts podcast</a>, where he said that he believes the Draisaitl negotiations had as much to do with McDavid as they did about the German center. He implies that the Oilers and McDavid may have already come to some sort of spoken agreement, even though the two sides are not eligible to officially discuss an extension until next summer. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/NHL_Watcher/status/1832466120730714611'> </a></blockquote></div> That being said, this is great news for Oilers fans. Draisaitl's extension is a sign that both the team and the players are committed to bringing a Stanley Cup to the city of Edmonton. It is rare in the modern NHL that a player of Draisaitl's caliber signs such a massive extension a year in advance. In this case, it appears to be setting the tone for McDavid, who will likely do the same next summer. However, with so much money committed to Draisaitl, one would have to imagine that McDavid's deal will be even larger, possibly coming in at well over 15 million dollars a season. As such, some fans are concerned about the future of their salary cap situation. After all, the Oilers would not want to become the next Toronto Maple Leafs. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/FrankFencepost6/status/1832516873348641121'> </a></blockquote></div> The difference between the two teams however, is that the Leafs are committed to four super star caliber players, while the Oilers are only committed to two. Furthermore, McDavid and Draisaitl are arguably more impactful on the ice than any two of the Leafs core players, especially in the playoffs. As such, Oilers fans should not have anything to worry about. In fact, it is time to celebrate in Edmonton and it will only be a matter of time before this team wins a Stanley Cup.