Connor McDavid shuts down rumors of him leaving

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Joshua Deeds
August 25, 2023 (0:49)

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It has been nine seasons since Connor McDavid has been a part of the Edmonton Oilers team. The future of his career with the team remains a matter of speculation.

It does not seem that long ago that GM Peter Chiarelli had stepped onto the stage to select Connor McDavid 1st overall and since then the team has found itself in regular playoff scenarios almost every single week.

The team has lost to Anaheim in 2017, and Chicago in 2020 in the play-in series and has been swept by the Winnipeg Jets in 2021. In spite of this, McDavid has put an end to speculations that he might move from Edmonton in the near future.

«I love playing in Edmonton, and I really feel at home there,» McDavid told Spector. «Lauren (Kyle, McDavid's fiancee) loves being in Edmonton.

«There are a lot � a lot � of things that check the boxes for us in Edmonton. We're super comfortable there. But with all that being said, it's three years down the road. We've got to kind of see where our lives are at and kind of go from there.

«I don't say that to raise eyebrows or cause panic. It's just the way that it is. But I love Edmonton, I'm 100 per cent committed to winning in Edmonton with this group. And we're gonna see it through.»

According to Mark Spector of Sportsnet, McDavid did not mention a contract extension as of yet, but he spoke about the possibility of bringing a Stanley Cup championship to the team for the first time since 1990 in an interview.

«That feeling in the room has really sat with me for a long time now, you know, ever since that series ended,» McDavid told Spector. «It's something that we're all going to want to hold on to. When we're back in that situation, maybe when we're down in a series, understanding that the time is now to do it. Because once it's over, it's over. You don't get any re-runs.

«That was just as big of a feeling in our room: how far away you are from being in that exact same position and getting a chance to do it over again. So you don't want to have any regrets.»

McDavid has been able to sit with the reality of the fact that his team's window of contention is soon to come to an end, and he has focused more on winning in the long run than anything else he has to do in Edmonton.

«You've got to learn how to lose. You've got to learn how to win as well. I think we know how to do both. So just being able to gather ourselves here in the summer, get to work and know what we're coming back here to do.
«And that's win the Cup.»

As Seen On: oilersnation.com