OverDrive - Johnston on McDavid's future with the Oilers, Kaprizov's incoming deal and the salary cap impact

Episode Date: September 5, 2025

TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around the Connor McDavid's future with the Oilers, weighing his options in Edmonton, Kirill Kaprizov and Jack Eichel headlining the UFA list, the salary cap in the playoffs, rebuilding teams in the league and more.

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What's going on? CJ, good to chat with you. Yeah, good to hear it for you guys, not too much. Everyone made it through the first week of school. Hockey's starting soon. Life's good. Yeah, hockey's starting soon, and McDavid is without a contract

that's obviously been the biggest story here leading up to camp. What's your take on that whole situation? Do we see something get done before camp? Or does it really feel like McDavid's comfortable heading into this season without a deal? well it's very clear that he's comfortable taking his time and doing things on his own schedule which you know quite frankly i think there's nothing wrong with that you know he's earned the right you know much like other players have in the past to play

things out to you know it takes seven years and the current cVA before players get the right to go to uFA um you know obviously we're in his case we're about the top player in the world you know it's going to be a story it has been a story you know he got he got put through the ringer again today with the media there in evansson but you know i i think he's very comfortable with with where he's at and so you know i don't have really a prediction in terms of how this is going to go or how long it's going to take you know i i believe him when he says that all options are on the table i mean that's consistent with everything i'm hearing behind the scenes You know, I just think that he's not going to be forced by any media conversation,

by anyone in the front office, by, you know, anything into doing something he's not comfortable with. And at this point in time, you know, he needs time to decide, you know, where his next deal is going to be, what it's going to look like, and how all that shakes out. C.J, that's fine and dandy and everything. You have the right to do when you're the best player in the universe. You can do whatever you want. But we were discussing in the first segment how I found it odd,

he wants to do that and it's he's also so familiar with the situation like this guy's been there for 10 years it's not a scenario where he's just got traded to san jose last year and he wanted to feel a few things out so that begs the question what exactly is the feeling out like does he want to see if there's a goaltending change does he want to see if something's short up in a certain area like that's that's what when you do this it's going to leave it open to questions about what are you feeling out here? Do you know what I mean? Yeah, and I, and they're fair questions, you know, and there are questions that I'm sure will continue to be asked of them as long as this is unresolved and is kind of in the status quo stage it is right now. And, you know,

I don't think it's just one thing, you know, look, this team has been to two straight Stanley Cup finals. But I know the internal feeling in Emmington is that they took a step back from 2024 to 2025 that, you know, look, it was, it says a lot about how great a team they are that they were down to the last two standing, but they lost ground to the Panthers in that 12 months. You know, it could be that Connor wants to see, you know, what the team has this season. How do, how do things start? How does it feel? I mean, you know, I just think he's really would be concerned, and this isn't just with Edmonton. It's anywhere he might think about playing at any time.

He's not going to want to box himself in somewhere where he doesn't feel that he has a great chance to win. And so, you know, I don't know what it will be for him. That sort of says, okay, this is the best spot to stay here with the Oilers. You know, but you look at the other players on that team, and, you know, he's talked a lot referencing this season. Like, I think he's correct to look at the team this year and say they've got a good shot. They may not take it a big step forward.

in any way that we can pinpoint this summer, but they certainly, I don't think, took massive steps back, and they've just been to those two-cup finals. So, you know, I do think that he just wants to get really comfortable with the idea that whatever the next contract is, that he's going to have a chance to win a Stanley Cup in that playing season because, you know,

he's played all those years. You mentioned all he's been the top player in the game, you know, 800-point seasons already. He's been the leading playoff point-getter three in the last four years, and it hasn't been good enough for his team to win the cup. And, you know, you've heard him too in some of the interviews. I saw the one he gave to Ryan Rashog last night. You know, he's talked about that he feels pressure that he can be even better.

But, you know, I think at a certain point, if you're him, how much more do you have to give? You know, I would hate to put that challenge in front of him because it seems like he can do pretty much anything he puts his mind to. But, you know, he's got to feel like he's surrounded by the right chances to win. He thinks that's the case this season. and he's under contract with the Oilers, but I think starting 2026-27, he's got some questions, and he's still working through that process.

So outside of McDavid, is there any other, you know, looming free agent we'll talk about or you can pinpoint that maybe we're not focusing enough on that maybe isn't just a slam dunk that they sign in their respective organizations? You know, it's hard to say,

the McDavid story is going to take up all the oxygen around the league, you know, just because of who he is. And, you know, we haven't seen, we've, you know, not that I can remember we've seen a player of that magnitude where it's even a whiff of a possibility they could become a UFA. So, you know, just even that, you know, and I'm not saying that that's at the table here.

I think there's a lot of months before June 30th, which is the last day the Oilers control is rights as of now. There's a lot of things that could happen in the meantime. But, you know, as time goes along, and people are going to start to imagine what if he left? Where would he go? All those sorts of things. So that story is going to be massive.

You know, you've got a number of great players around the league, though, that aren't signed, that are in a similar spot to him, but they're just not on his level. I mean, Kiro Kriprizov is one year out from potential UFA, Jack Eichol in Vegas, Kyle Connor and Winnipeg. You know, I think when all three of those players, there's been dialogue and there is ongoing dialogue between the players' agents and the teams about getting an extension done, much the way the Oilers would love to do, of course, with Connor McDavid. And, you know, we'll see if any of that happens.

I think in some ways they're all tied together. We're also living, you know, if you step back even further, we're in this world where you got all of a sudden a $95 million cap for this season. These guys would be starting their next deals in a year where the cap's going to go to $104 million. So it's a little bit of a different environment. And so I, you know, I think that any agent with a client that has some leverage is going to really be careful or be thoughtful, I guess, about, you know, what those next contracts look like. So, you know, it all sets up that it could be a fascinating next summer, you know, maybe this plays out through this season and a lot of those players extend. I mean, you know, I think there's a world, frankly, where they all stay where they are.

But right now we don't know that. And, you know, we're getting closer and closer to camp. And so that's a little bit of a pressure point in those kind of negotiations. CJ, I think yourself, along with the other insiders, we're mentioning teams last year saying everybody wants to be a buyer and everyone kind of some way somehow like their team. And we mentioned teams like Toronto and Edmonton that might want to add. Like, how long is it going to take for some of these teams

who are completely fooling themselves to thinking that they're any good? Like, is that U.S. Thanksgiving date going to be blown out of the water when teams realize 10 games in that they're trash? like what are these guys going to do i mean it could be even sooner i mean basically there's not it for all the optimism out there or or front offices that feel pretty good about their team there's just not enough standings points available for them which means you're fooling yourself to begin with like and the most important assessment is your own assessment of your own team sure and a lot of these front offices are managing up to an owner or someone who represents the

owner and sometimes that can be a factor here. You know, we've been kind of through the last couple of seasons. Like you look at it, San Jose, Chicago, you know, Anaheim, and the Ducks maybe get an asterisk because they took a step forward last year. But a lot of these teams have been at the bottom of the standings for multiple seasons. They've sold off a lot of their, their experienced players at the past few trade deadlines. And now they've actually drafted, you know, made some high draft picks and they're excited about those players.

And so they think that they're going to start to take a step forward towards respect Well, I mean, it's almost like gravity. If they go up, someone's got to come down. I mean, last year is probably the best example. That was the Boston Bruins. You know, they didn't go into last year's training camp thinking they'd be, you know, a team right near the bottom of the standings, which is where they ended up. I don't think they went to training camp imagining that they'd be trading away,

you know, heart and soul players like Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, Charlie Coyle. I mean, a lot of players that had brought success there over a number of seasons where they basically had to pivot on the fly and trade those guys ahead. the deadline. And so I think there's probably going to be a team like a Boston, you know, 2.0, we'll call it. I mean, there's going to be, I don't, I can't sit here and say which one it's going to be, but reality will hit pretty starkly. And, you know, there's going to be opportunity in that because if you're one of the few teams out there with really good players

to sell, I mean, it can be something that can turn things around quickly. I mean, we saw the capitals turn their, their program around pretty quickly. Two years ago was the Calgary Flames. you know, had all those UFAs, they traded out of town, and last year they nearly made the playoffs, and I know they feel good about where they're at today. So, you know, I think naturally the standings, the start of the season is going to, you know, probably force a little bit of a reality check in some places,

and maybe you start to see a bit more player movement, you know, fall out of that. But, I mean, this has been the quietest summer I can remember. I mean, obviously, lots of players were free agents and signed new contracts, but there wasn't really much on the transaction front beyond that. Well, to build off that, CJ, too.

Like, I wonder if you could see teams being a little bit more aggressive earlier in the year. Because with the NHL taking or implementing the new salary cap in the playoffs, it also allows or doesn't really allow cap accrual to be as important. And I wonder if that would allow teams to start making moves a little earlier than usual. I think it's possible, certainly. I mean, we still don't, it might take a. a few years for us to even really grasp

the true implications of the playoff cap. I mean, what we do know is that, you know, they're trying to address the issue of teams that have used LTI to basically build rosters that were, you know, outsized of the salary cap. I mean, the Panthers brought

on a guy like Brad Marchand at last year's deadline while Matthew Kachuk was on LTI and then, you know, when he got to the playoffs Kach was able to play and you had both players in the same team because there's no cap in place. I mean, so we know at the NHL and the players association have tried to do with the tweets to the rules in the new CBA, but we don't know how the teams themselves are going to respond yet. And, you know, look,

the smart teams and the smart GMs and AGMs out there, they're always looking for ways to operate in the gray. They're looking for ways to do things legally, but tilt the system in their favor. So I'm sure things will crop up. It leaves me here. It's hard to conclude or say, you know, definitively what it's going to mean other than I do think it's probably, not going to be as busy at the deadline this season. And so, yeah, hopefully that means just more trade during the year because, you know, we know that that's part of the lifeblood of the sport just in terms of driving interest, driving conversation.

And, you know, if you're a fan, you know, the team, you love it when your team's out there adding players and trying to make moves to win a Stanley Cup. Just a quick follow up on that. Oh, even when you were talking about, too, like, is there any team in the NHL that's in a defined rebuild? because we talked about the Anaheims in San Jose and Chicago's. They've been in rebuilds, but they're trying to head north, right?

Like they're trying to get better to help their young. Would Pittsburgh be the only known open seller right now in the National Hockey League? I would say they're the only full-scale seller in their mind and in their approach. But even them, you know, it's kind of an asterisk to their situation, but they're going through an ownership change. Right. And, you know, I don't even know exactly what that means for what they can do operationally. But I would suggest to you that they probably can't operate in a full sales mode the way, you know, Kyle Dubus and, you know, the guys who work with them there would probably prefer to.

So, you know, we might actually be in a strange world where nobody is truly full on embracing the rebuild. and you know that that that's probably helps explain a little bit why it was such a quiet summer but I'm just looking quickly at last year standings I mean everybody thinks they're good yeah you know if Philadelphia was at the bottom of the Metro last year like they're they're trying to be a better team you know obviously they I think they'll trade some players away probably by the deadline you know the Islanders made a GM change at 82 points last year I just don't see a lot of teams that would openly call themselves like, okay, we know it's going to be three years and it's good as this Gavin McKenna is that's coming in the 2026 draft and, you know, by all

counts, you know, he's a star to superstar level, number one overall pick potential. I don't see anyone right now trying to try to fail to win that pick. Yeah, I'm kind of with you. I'm looking at the standings right now as well, like Chicago wants to head northward, Utah, San Jose, Seattle, like Nashville, like they went heavy last year they're probably hoping they could regroup before they go the other way, give at least one more year with that group, but everyone else,

besides Pittsburgh, feels like they have a chance or think they have a chance at the very least. I was brother, of those teams you just mentioned, honestly, there might be one that takes a leap and is like playoff, like kind of playoff bound. Of those teams you just mentioned, there might be one. Utah. But that's the thing, though.

The question is, and C.J. just brought this up, too. Like, if the Islanders take us... What if Boston has a bounce-back year? Swayman is on time feels good. It's not going through a contract squabble. McAvoy, healthy. Lindholm, healthy. You know, you see players that settle in.

They made some moves. Like, what if Boston now pushes back in the Atlantic? Like, you know, does Buffalo at some point have a year where things fall into place for them instead of fall apart? Detroit, same thing. They go and get John Gibson. Are they feel that they better? I look at the east. Like, there's not, it's not, like, it's wide open because a lot of teams believe that they

are really good teams there. That's the, that's going to be the challenge. They're all going to be taking points off of each other, C. Yeah, it's, I mean, this is, I guess, what the league wants parity, right? Right. You could probably win, you could probably win a bar bet with your friends by asking, you know, how many points of Florida Panthers finished ahead of Calgary? last year in the regular season because it was two.

And most people probably wouldn't know that. And obviously, Florida, you know, they're the kind of team. They get in the playoffs. We all know what they're capable of. It doesn't matter where they finish. They don't mind starting on the road, all that stuff. But, you know, the difference between the highest classes of the league and the lowest, I think it's just a narrow band.

You know, maybe it might be another tough year in San Jose, I would say. Like, they still have some room to go there. But they're not intentionally. I mean, they were trading and signing veterans this summer. Like, they don't want to have another year at the bottom of standing. They're trying to climb up with Celebrini and Will Smith and everyone else. So, yeah, it's just a funny point in the cycle of the league. DJ, how did you feel about your Cowboys last night?

Mixed emotions in that one. I didn't expect them to even make a game of it, to be honest, and they made a game of it. Yeah, they were good, man. I thought so. Yeah, you should be happy with, I mean, it lost. obviously, but they competed. Yeah, the fact that, because I didn't know how the whole Micah Parsons situation, what kind of effect I might have on his teammates, the players left behind.

You know, there's a lot of unknowns there, but, you know, the way they dug in and they were on it, and they obviously had a chance. I mean, unfortunately, C.D. Lamb dropped a couple of balls, and I like that he came out and kind of owned that publicly. You know, I think it's, I'm still cautiously optimistic. I think it'll be a decent year, but, you know, I'm not thinking it ends with a Super Bowl as much as I'd love to see that happen. I just don't see that happening either, buddy.

As much as I would love it for you and Pierre, I just don't see it happening. All right, buddy, good chat, and we'll do it again soon. Right on. Have a great weekend, guys. You as well. Chris Johnson, TSN Hockey Insider. Seasoned gamer, or just video game curious, this weekend gaming is the podcast for you. We break down the latest in the world of video games.

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