The Toronto Maple Leafs have a Mitch Marner-shaped hole on their roster to fill. The acquisitions of Matias Maccelli, Dakota Joshua, and Nic Roy are good transactions, but they won’t make up for all of the lost production. What would make up for it is Connor McDavid.
McDavid is in the final year of his contract that pays him $12.5 million. His recent two-word comment on his future with the Edmonton Oilers has got Maple Leafs fans excited that a return “home” is truly a possibility.
Connor McDavid Returning to the Maple Leafs or Sticking With the Oilers?
Elliotte Friedman believes that McDavid has put the Oilers on notice. He needs to think that the team will be a long-term contender many years down the road. McDavid spoke with the media on Friday and said that “no term” is one of the options on the table.
“All options are on the table,” McDavid said to the media on September 5. “That would mean length of term, short-term, long-term, no-term. All options are on the table, so that would include short-term.”
Making this kind of decision requires numerous conversations with a player’s inner circle. It sounds like a comprehensive process for McDavid to consider all the options.
“When you’re trying to plan the next three, four, six, seven, nine years of your life, you don’t just dream it up in one day,” McDavid continued. “You take your time, talk it over. Think about it some more, talk it over again. It’s not something that I take lightly; it’s not something that my family takes lightly. As I alluded to yesterday, I’ve put everything I have into my career.”
“You only get one chance to do it, and to do it right. My only desire is to win, trying to figure out that balance is tricky.”
Insiders like Friedman and Pierre LeBrun have all said that negotiations with the Oilers will be short. Oilers CEO Jeff Jackson has said as much, too. But what happens if he chooses the “no-term” option?
Maple Leafs Fans’ Reaction to McDavid’s Comments
This interview was the first time that McDavid cited “no-term” as an option. Maple Leafs journalists and fans are expressing their excitement online about the possibility of McDavid wearing a Maple Leafs uniform.
“Sounds like a guy with a childhood dream, & he’s wrestling with it,” wrote Nick Alberga, host of The Leafs Morning Take podcast.
Jen on X echoed a similar sentiment with her X post, “Imagine if Matthews said this to Toronto media. I’d be terrified. This sounds like a guy with a childhood dream.”
Also on X, Sergei highlighted the “no-term” comment, “Today was the first time Connor McDavid implied that not signing with Edmonton was an option. If I’m an Oilers fan, I’m freaking out.”
“I’m ngl (not gonna lie), if you seriously think there’s a 0% chance he doesn’t want to come home, I think you’re delusional and/or simply wrong,” wrote A (user @_knilanderthews).
Dividend Prince on X wrote, “McDavid with Matthews might be one of the greatest duos of all time.”
Benoit for Hart on X wrote, “This pretty much guarantees he will be a Leaf.”
Another user on X named Logan wrote the vague message, “I’ve heard all I need to hear. If I combine this with the little rumour that made its way to me in July, I’m good and convinced.”
McDavid Once Said, ‘That Would Be An Absolute Dream Come True’
Before he heard his name called when he was drafted first overall in 2015, he had a dream.
“It’s pretty crazy to even think about,” McDavid said to Mike Zeisberger in February 2015, when he was asked about the possibility of playing for Toronto one day. “But that would be an absolute dream come true. I’m from Toronto. You have to be a Leafs fan. My dad was a Leafs fan.”
In the Toronto Sun article penned by Zeisberger, McDavid goes on about how incredible it would be to win in Toronto.
“Listen, if a team could ever win in Toronto, it would be unbelievable,” McDavid explained to Zeisberger. “Whoever won would have the key to the city. It would be something that people would never forget. Playing in a place like that, it has its perks and it has its downfalls.”
Whatever McDavid’s decision is on his future, he has a lot to chew on. On the one hand, he could stick with the team that has made it to the Stanley Cup Final two years in a row. On the other hand, he could fulfill a childhood dream of playing for his hometown team.
“It’s one of the best places in the league.”
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