Hey hockey fans, have you listened to “Money, Money, Money” by ABBA? It truly seems to be a rich man’s world in the professional sports sphere, where athletes are being offered contracts worth millions of dollars.
On paper, it would make sense that the top athlete in the NHL would be at the top of the highest salary list in hockey. So why is Connor McDavid number six in the NHL?
After being drafted first overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2015, McDavid has lived up to his hype as the next generational player. Being named the youngest captain in NHL history, winning three Hart Trophies, five Art Ross Trophies, and many other accolades are a testament to his importance and skill on the ice.
His most recent accomplishment, two Stanley Cup final appearances, was impressive to anyone. But to McDavid, it was framed more as a crushing Stanley Cup Final loss and a second-chance rematch gone wrong.
The difficulty of being in close reach of the goal you’ve been working towards your entire life, yet just barely falling short, has been the devastating reality for the Edmonton Oilers over the past two seasons. So why would McDavid choose to stick around for a discounted price?
From his rookie contract at $925,000 AAV (Average Annual Value or the average amount of money a player earns in a year), to his second deal at $12.5 million AAV, the natural progression would be a larger annual amount.
His teammate, center Leon Draisaitl, went from $8.5 million AAV to making $14M AAV last year. Other players in the league have gone as high as $17 million AAV. It only makes sense that the best player would be the highest earner, but that is not the case. The Oilers don’t have enough money for a massive McDavid raise.
The NHL operates under a salary cap, meaning that all teams have a budget. When their primary goal is the Stanley Cup, they will spend every last cent to put everything they have towards a win.
So what happens if they don’t win? More often than not, contracts start to expire, players start to get traded, and the rebuilding process begins.
After two Stanley Cup Final losses on the cusp of victory, the Oilers must do everything to stay ahead in the race against contract expiry dates, aging stars, and the patience of players and fans alike. The most important piece to the puzzle: faith.
Whether it’s the faith a player has in themselves, the faith the players have in each other, or the faith the fans have in a team. And, faith is the foundation of the McDavid contract.
Faith is a $12.5 million AAV for a 2-year contract in a market where teams would give near $20 million AAV for a shot at signing him for a mere season.
Finding a player as dynamic as McDavid is hard to come by, and teams can’t get him out of their mind. For the next two years, he will work hard at a lower price than initially expected, due to his faith in the team’s potential for a Stanley Cup Championship. A championship that the Oilers haven’t captured in 35 years.
McDavid’s got a plan: to win the cup in a game. And if executed, his life would never be the same.