It was always expected that Connor McDavid would once again become the highest-paid player in the NHL, especially after Edmonton Oilers teammate Leon Draisaitl signed an eight-year, $112 million contract a year ago. But McDavid had different ideas.

As the final season of his eight-year, $100 million deal approached, McDavid participated in negotiations with the Oilers , who, according to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun, didn't really know what McDavid wanted in terms of an extension. The assumption, of course, was that it would include a pay raise. After all, McDavid had held the highest AAV of any player in the NHL from 2018 to 2023, when the Colorado Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon got a deal worth $12.6 million per year, $100,000 more than McDavid. Auston Matthews then signed at a

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