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The Leo Carlsson offer sheet saga didnt just cost Anaheim a fortune to match it appears to have reset expectations for where the entire market is headed, including for the best player alive.
Carlssons deal, in a way, led to Connor Bedards deal on Saturday ($15 million per season over 5 years), and that will lead to other mega contracts, all while McDavid watches and waits.
With Carlsson now locked in at an $18 million AAV and the salary cap projected to keep climbing, the crew at Spittin Chiclets used their latest episode to game out what McDavids next contract might actually look like.
The number they landed on isnt just big its unprecedented.
Ryan Whitney opened the bidding, arguing McDavid realistically should be getting $23 million a year.
Paul Bissonnette went further, floating eight years at $25 million per season a deal that would make McDavid the first player in NHL history to sign a $200 million contract.
I think hes gonna get it, Bissonnette said.
Theres a wrinkle, though: the new CBA that took effect in September eliminates eight-year contracts entirely.
The max term any team can now offer is seven years, meaning an eight-year, $200 million deal isnt actually on the table under current rules.
But even scaled down to seven years, a $23-25 million AAV would still make it the richest contract in league history by a wide margin.
The timeline matters here, too.
McDavid is only entering Year 1 of the two-year, $25 million extension he signed with Edmonton this past October a short-term bridge that currently makes him just the seventh-highest-paid player in the NHL.
That deal was widely read as McDavid signaling urgency to win now rather than cashing in early.
But it also sets up his next negotiation window for July 1, 2027, right as the cap is expected to keep rising and rival stars keep resetting the ceiling.
If Carlsson a 20-year-old without a single full NHL season under his belt can command $18 million, the market logic for the sports most dominant player getting a historic premium on top of that isnt much of a stretch.
Nothing is official, and McDavid isnt extension-eligible for another year.
But if the boys at Spittin Chiclets are right, Edmonton isnt just planning to keep its captain it may be bracing to make him the first $200 million player in league history, term limits notwithstanding.
The issue for the Oilers is that Evan Bouchard will be right behind him.
Bouchard signed a four-year deal at $10.5 million per season that ends in 2029.
What players will be making at that time is unclear.
He might be a $20 million player as well.
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