The best player in hockey has lost to the best team in hockey in back-to-back years. Watching Florida hold Lord Stanley over their heads twice has to be the kind of scene that burns into your soul and leaves you distraught as you lay awake in bed at night.
Perhaps, he would sleep better in the much warmer California climate? We’ll get there.
Check out BetOnline for how this changes next year’s awards and playoff team odds!
The Connor McDavid Trade: BetOnline Futures Market
McDavid has been toiling away as an Oiler in blue & orange for nearly a decade. He is the first player ever to record nine straight 90 point-plus seasons and not touch the cup. At this rate, there’s only one kind of Stanley Cup he’ll ever have. Amazon has free shipping, Connor.
The question has now become, is Connor McDavid’s time in Edmonton finally coming to an end? He is on the final year of his massive eight-year, $100 million deal. He is extension eligible and he will become an unrestricted free agent in 2026-2027.
Connor McDavid has a massive decision to make about his future…
Connor McDavid’s Next NHL Team
Wayne Gretzky, LeBron James, Lionel Messi, and Tom Brady, plenty of all-time greats have made relocations that shook the landscapes of their respective sports. Conversely, we have legends like Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, or even Dirk Nowitzki. Everyone takes their own path based on who they are. Who is Connor McDavid?
He has already established himself as one of the greats. When the puck hits his tape in the neutral zone and he gazelles over the blue-line—we are all in awe. That’s not up for debate.
He can skate, score, and pass with the best of them. But when has someone had enough? Edmonton as a city is not the sexiest metropolitan area, it’s not considerably large, and for those reasons they have trouble retaining elite talent. Chris Pronger famously left the franchise because his family was unhappy in the city. That was directly after they lost in the Stanley Cup Finals.
It gave us this incredible interview with Edmonton’s goalie Ilya Bryzgalov:
How do you stick around after back-to-back disappointments?
The True Contenders for the Connor McDavid Trade
New York Rangers (+400)
Follow in the footsteps of the great one? New York is a great place to play hockey and their fanbase is fantastic. Signing here would make the league incredibly happy. Unfortunately, they missed the playoffs last year, so to entice Conner they would likely have to improve first.
Toronto Maple Leafs (+500)
The largest hockey market on the planet. The Greater Toronto area could likely support two teams, but the boys in blue dominate the entire market. If Connor McDavid comes here, then he will have the most scrutiny dealing with Toronto media. Conversely, he would have very deep pockets. Toronto has always done whatever it takes to try and win. Even if their practices can land them in trouble. It hasn’t made them champions, but they’ve spent the money and made the moves before.
HEAR ME OUT!
Los Angeles Kings (+1200)
This is my conspiracy theory pick. Hear me out. Mark Walter owns 21% of TWG Global Holdings. This company received a large investment from Mubadala Capital, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund. Mubadala invested $10 billion in April of 2025. Walter just purchased the Los Angeles Lakers for $10 billion a few weeks ago. He now owns the Dodgers, Lakers, and Sparks.
Moreover, Walter was a minority owner of the Lakers before the purchase. He purchased his shares from Philip Anschutz in 2021. Who is Philip Anschutz? He is the current owner of Crpyto.com Arena and the Los Angeles Kings. TWG Global Holdings has made it very clear they are not done with their sports venture, with an enterprise value of $40 billion.
My point here is, one man is buying up Los Angeles sports teams. He bought the Dodgers then they got Shohei. The Lakers mysteriously land Luka Doncic. He buys the rest of the team. Now, Connor McDavid might be available and his old business partner owns a destination? Anschutz is probably thinking how he can acquire Connor and sell the team to Walter and his insanely wealthy backers.
To conclude, I’m not completely crazy. NHL Insider Pierre LeBrun speculated in May that the Kings were a possibility.
The Other Guys
These teams would be a lot of fun. Alexander Ovechkin playing with Connor McDavid? Joining the enemy and heading to Florida? Theoretically, these teams are fun to daydream about. However, there is little chance for them to acquire him.
- Boston Bruins (+600)
- Chicago Blackhawks (+700)
- Vegas Golden Knights (+800)
- Pittsburgh Penguins (+900)
- Florida Panthers (+1400)
- Colorado Avalanche (+1600)
- Washington Capitals (+1600)
Teams with Zero Chance for McDavid
- Carolina Hurricanes (+1800)
- Minnesota Wild (+1800)
- Dallas Stars (+2000)
- Detroit Red Wings (+2000)
- Tampa Bay Lightening (+2000)
- Montreal Canadians (+2200) – Could be fun.
- Anaheim Ducks (+2500) – Dark-horse contender to land him if he wants to be in California.
- New Jersey Devils (+2500)
- Columbus Blue Jackets (+2800)
- Utah Mammoth (+3300)
- Nashville Predators (+3300)
- San Jose Sharks (+3300)
- Philadelphia Flyers (+3500)
- New York Islanders (+4000) – Sorry, NZ.
- Ottawa Senators (+4000) – Join Mathew’s brother to take him down together? WWE script right there.
- St. Louis Blues (+4000)
- Winnipeg Jets (+4000) – Only Canadian city with a rougher climate than Edmonton. ‘Deadmonton’ to ‘Winterpeg’ would be diabolical and likely cause seasonal depression.
- Seattle Kraken (+4000)
- Buffalo Sabres (+5000)
- Calgary Flames (+5000) – A boy can wish, right?
- Vancouver Canucks (+5000)