If McDavid asks for and receives a trade does that finally force fans to stop supporting them?

[ricky0034]

the Oilers would be stupid to trade him even if he did ask for one

he's the best player in the world,nothing you would get in a trade for him would be even remotely worth it and he's locked up for the next 7 seasons you call his bluff,what's he gonna do? retire at the age of 22? run off to the KHL until he's 30?

 

[SI90]

He's not going to ask for a trade!

He just said that the season was frustrating. I'm so sick of all these overreactions.

I agree. He wants to win. He’s frustrated that they missed the playoffs. I don’t see him bailing. I appreciate him being so outspoken with his frustrations. Could force management to make the right changes.

As an islanders fan our former captain wild always say how great everyone was and how he has faith in management to make the right moves and blah blah and we’re not far off.

Sometimes star players. Especially franchise players need to let thier frustrations be known in order to improve the situation.

 

[StevenF1919]

Anyone who thinks he won't ask for a trade just needs to watch him accept the Molson Cup before last night's game. There's no way he's sticking around for several more losing seasons. If the team doesn't make the playoffs next year (they won't) he's asking out.

 

[Loosie]

When pondering his future he should look at Ovechkins career and take note. Same situation, team sucked, no playoff success. He stuck it out through all the BS and finally won.
So i say to Mcdavid stick it out kid. It feels so much better when you finally win it then bailing and going to other teams trying to find playoff success.

Ovechkin made the playoffs in his 3rd year, and the Caps have only missed the playoffs once since then. The Caps also didn't have a history of draft 1st overall and still being terrible.

 

[StreetHawk]

Anyone who thinks he won't ask for a trade just needs to watch him accept the Molson Cup before last night's game. There's no way he's sticking around for several more losing seasons. If the team doesn't make the playoffs next year (they won't) he's asking out.

He opted to trust PC. He wasn’t lied to, but he trusted an incompetent management group. Again, he didn’t have to. Could have signed a 3-4 year deal to make them prove it to him. But he opted for security.

LeBron was in 7 years in Cleveland and left as a free agent. Connor should have followed that setup and not signed away his ufa years with the oilers.

 

[Frank the Tank]

He might not be but if he wants what's best for his career he should.

I'm sure you were advocating for Stamkos to demand a trade from Tampa Bay, especially after missing the playoffs in 4 of his first 5 seasons. That would have been best for his career after the team failed to support his 60 goal season.

 

[Rebels57]

The only way to save the Oilers is for Oilers fans to show some f***ing restraint and stop giving ownership their hard-earned money.

 

[ricky0034]

Anyone who thinks he won't ask for a trade just needs to watch him accept the Molson Cup before last night's game. There's no way he's sticking around for several more losing seasons. If the team doesn't make the playoffs next year (they won't) he's asking out.

"trade me"
"no"

now what? he's locked up until 2026 what's he gonna do retire?

 

[djpatm]

"trade me"
"no"

now what? he's locked up until 2026 what's he gonna do retire?

Yup. He sits out and enjoys a nice long fully paid vacation while the Oilers are tying up 12 million or whatever in cap space for nothing.

It would be so Oilers too.

 

[oXo Cube]

Yup. He sits out and enjoys a nice long fully paid vacation while the Oilers are tying up 12 million or whatever in cap space for nothing.

It would be so Oilers too.

Uh, if he sits out he doesn't get paid, wise guy.

 

[8816 others]

I honestly think the whole reason why Katz has no interest in doing anything with managment is cause fans still buy tickets and attend games and give him money despite them being a diaster for the last decade minus 1 season. Would Conor leaving finally make fans stop attending and finally force him to do something?

Refusing to attend games was a strategy that never could have worked in Toronto, since there were still long lists of people happy to go in their place. It took a hell of a sales pitch, not unlike the one used to convince Tavares to sign, to convince ownership to get serious and build to win. The throwing jerseys on the ice, salute-gate, waffles, etc might have helped the argument. For Edmonton's sake, McDavid threatening to demand a trade should be enough to convince them.

 

[ricky0034]

Yup. He sits out and enjoys a nice long fully paid vacation while the Oilers are tying up 12 million or whatever in cap space for nothing.

It would be so Oilers too.

so then they suspend him and aren't paying him anything while keeping his rights as he sits out and isn't allowed to play for any other NHL team

he'll come crawling back soon enough when he starts missing those tens of millions of dollars

if the Lightning can hang onto a Drouin that wants out for more than a year because they don't want to trade him for what's out there the Oilers can sure as hell do the same with McDavid(and indefinitely because the right return will never be out there for a player of that quality)

 

[justafan22]

He won't ask for a trade unfortunately.

He's the epitome of the "good Canadian boy" hockey player and taking your career into your own hands would be very far out of character.

Honestly even if he asked for one I don't think the Oilers would trade him.

Fast forward to the press conference in july 2021:

"I promised Drai I wouldn't do this", said a teary eyed McDavid.

 

[djpatm]

so then they suspend him and aren't paying him anything while keeping his rights as he sits out and isn't allowed to play for any other NHL team

he'll come crawling back soon enough when he starts missing those tens of millions of dollars

My mistake, I thought the contract was guaranteed until it was broken.

Do you really a want a player with no interest in playing for your team on your roster? After you strip him of his C, I'm assuming too.

 

[Sky04]

I'm sure you were advocating for Stamkos to demand a trade from Tampa Bay, especially after missing the playoffs in 4 of his first 5 seasons. That would have been best for his career after the team failed to support his 60 goal season.

Tampa didn't have 13 years of awful track record like the Oilers do and they got Steve Yzerman, at least you could see signs of life in that organization back then, the Oilers? They look awful top to bottom, what's the plan? Make the playoffs when McDavid is 25 and be a mediocre playoff/bubble team after that?

 

[Frank the Tank]

The only way to save the Oilers is for Oilers fans to show some ****ing restraint and stop giving ownership their hard-earned money.

We did that in the '90s and howls from many big market fans were to relocate the Oilers to the US like the Jets and Nordiques. Perhaps a different era where Bettman tries hard to keep teams where they are warrants a different response from fans.

 

[oXo Cube]

My mistake, I thought the contract was guaranteed until it was broken.

Do you really a want a player with no interest in playing for your team on your roster? After you strip him of his C, I'm assuming too.

Even a disinterested McDavid is lightyears better than the lowball trade offers that would be out there once the vultures start circling, so yeah.

And that's before we even get into his impact on the business side of the franchise.

 

[ricky0034]

My mistake, I thought the contract was guaranteed until it was broken.

Do you really a want a player with no interest in playing for your team on your roster? After you strip him of his C, I'm assuming too.

trading players of McDavid's quality doesn't really ever work out well for the team that trades them

he's under team control for a very long time if i'm the Oilers i'd absolutely still rather have an unhappy McDavid for the next 7 years than whatever he would return in a trade

 

[Rebels57]

We did that in the '90s and howls from many big market fans were to relocate the Oilers to the US like the Jets and Nordiques. Perhaps a different era where Bettman tries hard to keep teams where they are warrants a different response from fans.

Money still talks. Flyers got Hextall/Hakstol fired by finally starting to not show up as much this season. Once they were fired and Hart called up, they came back. You have to draw a line somewhere when things are going south for years.

 

[oXo Cube]

Tampa didn't have 13 years of awful track record like the Oilers do and they got Steve Yzerman, at least you could see signs of life in that organization back then, the Oilers? They look awful top to bottom, what's the plan? Make the playoffs when McDavid is 25 and be a mediocre playoff/bubble team after that?

The plan is to build a contender around the best player on planet earth.

Which sounds considerably easier than trying to do it without said player.

 

[ThePhoenixx]

The arena will be packed next year. Just like the past 15.

Katz will not trade McDavid. He is a revenue machine.

 

[McFlash97]

Lol, you think McDavid with his current contract is untradeable?

What?

ignore him. [mod]

Im sure in his world Larkin is the games most dynamic player .....

 

[Sky04]

The plan is to build a contender around the best player on planet earth.

Which sounds considerably easier than trying to do it without said player.

Nothing wrong with competing when McDavid is close to 30 I guess, gives other teams years to win while the best player on Earth doesn't see the playoffs in his prime.

 

[CartographerNo611]

If Gretzky can move, McDavid will move. I can picture him in a Rangers jersey once he hits 30.

 

[SotasicA]

Nah. This is such a simple problem to solve. I think the Oilers management already established this lack of success is all Tobias Rieder's fault. And nothing at all to do with how the organization is run. Nothing at all. Once that bad apple Rieder just gets off his lazy ass and does the job he is expected to do, it's yearly parades in downtown Edmonton. McDavid knows this to be true, so he'll stay.