Connor McDavid contract puts Oilers front office on notice: Time to address their biggest weakness

Connor McDavid’s contract extension is a monumental moment for the Edmonton Oilers, and it will also put immense pressure on the front office. 

Not only is McDavid only re-committed for 2 years, he left millions of dollars in annual salary on the table. He’s given the Oilers plenty of cap space to flesh out the roster, and not much time to do it. 

Thankfully, the Oilers are already knocking on the door of a championship, and may just need a few finishing touches to get them over the hump. 

Edmonton Oilers need to use McDavid savings to address biggest roster weakness

According to new rankings from the Athletic, the Oilers already have the best projected roster in the NHL. They’re the class of the league when it comes to their elite forward and defence groups, but near last place with goaltending. 

If the Edmonton Oilers want to give themselves the best chance at the Stanley Cup, they simply cannot enter another spring with the worst playoff goaltending. 

A team gunning for the Stanley Cup can’t be worried about being sunk by weak goals against in the playoffs. Even with the top defence in the league, there will be scoring chances against. 

After what McDavid has given back to the organization, the Oilers can’t afford another playoffs with a question mark in net. Their captain has left millions of dollars on the table, giving the team the opportunity to acquire a genuine starter. 

NHL insiders do believe that the Oilers could be hunting a star-level addition in the wake of McDavid’s discount. 

The best place they could possibly choose to pursue an impact trade would clearly be at the goaltending position.