ESPN insider considers ‘pie in the sky’ Connor McDavid option for Rangers in 2026
There’s a world where the New York Rangers reconstruct their roster this offseason but save their biggest move for 2026. Whether that world is one of reality or fantasy can be debated, but ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski believes it’s worth at least considering Connor McDavid landing with the Rangers, when his contract with the Oilers is up after next season.
“There’s a pie in the sky part of this that I can’t ignore, which is that Connor McDavid doesn’t have a contract with the Edmonton Oilers as of yet, and, frankly, watching an Oilers situation that is not in the best interests of Connor McDavid with the way the playoffs are going right now,” Wyshynski told Forever Blueshirts on the RINK RAP podcast this week.
“I mention that because you have to mention it. Until he puts pen to paper, there’s every possibility that Connor McDavid could hit the open market. And if that’d ever happen, I truly believe that the Rangers would be one of the teams he’d look at.”
Let’s start with the obvious. McDavid is already one of the greatest and most exciting players to lace up the skates in NHL history. He’s notched 100+ points in eight of his 10 seasons in the League, led the NHL in scoring five times and won the Hart Trophy as League MVP three times. He’s averaging 1.52 points per game in his career — 1,082 points in 712 games.
McDavid can become an unrestricted free agent for the first time after next season. He’s also eligible to sign a (massive) contract extension with the Oilers after July 1. That’s what his talented teammate Leon Draisaitl did ahead of his walk season this past September.
The Oilers locked Draisaitl up for eight years and $112 million ($14 million average annual value). They will surpass that — $16 million AAV? $17+ million? — to keep McDavid. There’s not anyone in the sport who believes the Oilers won’t go to any length to re-sign McDavid.
“He’s the most important player we have here, so that is priority number one,” Oilers general manager Stan Bowman said recently. “We’ll get to that this summer. Now’s probably not the time to be talking about that, but we all know Connor is going to be here and that we’re going to make it happen.”
But what does McDavid want? He wants to win, that’s for sure. And it sure doesn’t feel like the Oilers are going to win the Stanley Cup any time soon with Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard sharing goaltending duties. That’s even after the Oilers, with McDavid winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, pushed the Florida Panthers to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last spring.
The Rangers, you may heard, have Igor Shesterkin locked up as their No. 1 goalie for the next eight seasons. You think James Dolan, Chris Drury and a rabid fan base that last saw their team win the Cup in 1994 wouldn’t sign up to have, arguably, the best goalie in the world and best player in the world on the same roster, regardless of how much it costs?
Keep in mind that the salary cap rises to $104 million in 2026-27 from $95 million next season. And Artemi Panarin’s $11.64 million cap hit comes off the books in the 2026 offseason. There’s a good chance Mika Zibanejad and/or Chris Kreider are pressured into waiving their no-trade/move clauses by then and will be off the ledger.
“He certainly does (come off the books). But they’ll shoot [Alexis] Lafreniere into the sun to open up salary-cap space to sign McDavid. They’ll find a way to make it happen,” Wyshynski said with a laugh.
After Rangers take care of most pressing issues this offseason ‘there’s other things to consider too’
Now, let’s be honest, if you’re Drury, you can’t be counting on landing McDavid in 2026. You need to go about your business this offseason and if it becomes a real possibility down the road, do everything you can to make it happen.
But Wyshynski does raise another intriguing angle, since the Rangers need to hire a new coach this offseason. The Rangers really should vet and interview Jay Woodcroft, the former Oilers coach. And if the Rangers believe he’s equal with other top candidates — or better, of course — that’s not a bad thing, when considering McDavid.
“If you really wanted to get conspiratorial about it, if the Rangers hire Jay Woodcroft, who’s a guy that Connor really loved as a coach in Edmonton, that’d be interesting. That’s a bread crumb, if we’re being honest,” Wyshynski said. “I’d be intrigued by the possibility of that ever happening. I’ve thrown this out there before. Edmonton gets very angry when I do.”
The reality of their immediate situation is that the Rangers need to remake their core while maintaining a high level of skill on the roster. That’s what makes, say, Sam Bennett a very intriguing free-agent option this summer. Drury has much work to do to adjust the roster and maneuver his way around limited salary cap space.
So, there needs to be a laser focus on the here and now, with an eye on the future.
“In the short term, the obvious answer is they’re going to try to make this team into the mode of a J.T. Miller type as far as what they want out of their core,” Wyshynski stated. “I think Bennett is an intriguing possibility to that end. And then big picture, pie in the sky, there’s other things to consider too.”
WATCH the entire RINK RAP interview with Greg Wyshynski at the Forever Blueshirts YouTube page.
Or you can LISTEN TO RINK RAP HERE, or wherever you enjoy your podcasts.
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