Every contending roster eventually has to answer the same question: how do you keep a generational superstar happy while the rest of the team gets paid — and that question is the story of the Edmonton Oilers right now, after Connor McDavid signed a two-year, $25 million extension on October 6, 2025. Here’s who’s worth what on the current roster, how the cap math actually works, and where this group measures up against the Gretzky-era teams that set the franchise’s standard.
All-Time Points Leader (Oilers): Wayne Gretzky, 1,669 points (1979–1988) ·
Current Captain: Connor McDavid (since 2016) ·
2024-25 Team Payroll (approx.): $94.3 million (near upper cap limit) ·
Highest-Paid Player (2025-26): Connor McDavid, $12.5 million AAV ·
Stanley Cup Wins (Franchise): 5 (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990)
Quick snapshot
- McDavid signed a two-year, $25 million extension on Oct. 6, 2025 (NHL Oilers release).
- Gretzky finished his NHL career with 894 goals and 2,857 points (Hockey-Reference (stats database)).
- McDavid was entering the final season of an eight-year contract signed in 2017 (NHL.com (league site)).
- McDavid’s plans after the new deal expires following 2027-28.
- Leon Draisaitl’s next contract terms.
- Goaltender Tyson Jarry’s return date from a lower-body injury.
- 1979: Gretzky joined the franchise.
- 1984–1990: five Stanley Cups.
- 2016: McDavid named captain.
- 2025-10-06: extension signed.
- Draisaitl extension talks.
- 2026 trade-deadline moves.
- McDavid’s new deal begins in 2026-27.
Eight numbers tell the story of this roster — and one pattern holds: the franchise’s record book and its cap sheet are both dominated by a handful of generational names.
| Category | Detail | Source signal |
|---|---|---|
| Franchise Points Leader | Wayne Gretzky (1,669 in 696 games) | Hockey-Reference (stats database) |
| Active Points Leader (Oilers) | Connor McDavid (982 as of Oct 2025) | — |
| Most Goals in a Single Season (Oilers) | Wayne Gretzky (92 in 1981-82) | Hockey-Reference (stats database) |
| Current Head Coach | Kris Knoblauch (since Nov 2023) | — |
| 2024-25 Season Record | 50-26-6 (106 points, 2nd Pacific) | — |
| Current Captain | Connor McDavid (since 2016) | — |
| Stanley Cup Wins (Franchise) | 5 (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990) | — |
| Team Owner | Daryl Katz (since 2008) | — |
What this means: the active roster’s ceiling is tied to McDavid’s production, while the franchise’s historical floor was set by Gretzky — and the 2025 extension makes that comparison more urgent, not less.
Who Is the Oilers’ Best Player of All Time?
The argument starts with two names, and almost everyone else is competing for third. Wayne Gretzky owns the NHL records that defined an era — 894 goals and 2,857 career points. Connor McDavid owns the current conversation: 982 points as an Oiler as of October 2025, a league-leading 132 points in 2023-24, and a new extension that keeps him in Edmonton through 2027-28.
Gretzky’s Edmonton numbers are the franchise’s ceiling: 1,669 points in 696 games from 1979 to 1988, including the 92-goal season in 1981-82 that remains the single-season standard. McDavid’s game is built differently — fewer goals, more playmaking — but the effect is the same: everyone around him gets better.
Comparing Wayne Gretzky and Connor McDavid
- Gretzky: four Stanley Cups with Edmonton (1984, 1985, 1987, 1990).
- McDavid: captain since 2016 and the active leader in franchise scoring.
Two players, two eras — one pattern: Gretzky built the record book, and McDavid is still writing his chapter.
| Measure | Wayne Gretzky (1979–1988) | Connor McDavid (2015–present) |
|---|---|---|
| Points as an Oiler | 1,669 in 696 games | 982 as of Oct 2025 |
| NHL career totals | 894 goals, 2,857 points | 982 points, all with Edmonton |
| Stanley Cups with Edmonton | 4 (1984, 1985, 1987, 1990) | 0 so far |
| Captain | — | Named captain in 2016 |
| Contract status | Retired | Under team control through 2027-28 |
The honest answer: Gretzky is the statistical answer, McDavid is the living one, and the Oilers are rare in that both answers are defensible. Gretzky’s records are probably safe; McDavid’s contract is what shapes every roster decision Edmonton makes today.
Other franchise legends: Mark Messier, Paul Coffey, Grant Fuhr
- Mark Messier: 1,034 points with Edmonton from 1979 to 1991.
- Paul Coffey: 547 points as a defenseman from 1980 to 1987.
- Grant Fuhr: the goaltender who anchored the dynasty years.
Who Is the Billionaire Owner of the Edmonton Oilers?
Daryl Katz bought the Oilers in 2008 for roughly $200 million and has controlled the franchise since. Forbes pegged his net worth at $5.2 billion in 2025 and estimated the team’s value at $1.3 billion in 2024 — a reminder that the business case for owning an NHL team has appreciated dramatically.
Daryl Katz: net worth and ownership history
- Purchase price (2008): approximately $200 million.
- Team valuation (Forbes, 2024): estimated $1.3 billion.
- Katz net worth (Forbes, 2025): estimated $5.2 billion.
The key context: Katz’s money funded a modern arena and stabilized the franchise, but the NHL’s hard salary cap limits how much of that wealth can actually reach the ice.
Katz’s reported $5.2 billion fortune gives the Oilers a stable balance sheet, not a better team. In a hard-cap league, a rich owner’s advantage shows up in facilities and front-office spending, not in buying more talent than the roster limits allow.
Does Wayne Gretzky still hold an ownership stake?
- Gretzky sold his minority stake in 1998.
- He no longer holds an ownership position with the franchise.
So the answer is a clean no: Gretzky remains the franchise’s most famous face, but ownership runs through one person — Daryl Katz.
What this means: ownership stability removes a variable from the McDavid question. Katz has shown he will spend and support the product; the constraint on this roster is the cap, not the checkbook.
Who Is the Oilers’ Highest-Paid Player in 2025-26?
Connor McDavid, and the gap to second place is not close. His $12.5 million cap hit is the figure everything else on the roster bends around — the same number NHL.com (league site) says he has carried since 2019.
That number is also the centerpiece of his new deal: a two-year, $25 million extension signed October 6, 2025. It begins with the 2026-27 season, it is structurally shorter than the eight-year, $100 million extension he signed in 2017, and it keeps McDavid under team control for three seasons — 2025-26 through 2027-28 (Reuters (international wire)).
Leon Draisaitl’s cap hit: $8.5 million AAV
- Draisaitl’s current cap hit: $8.5 million AAV.
- Extension talks remain the open item in the team’s cap plan.
The pending Draisaitl negotiation is the next domino: what he commands will decide whether the Oilers can keep a supporting cast around two star contracts.
Recent signings and cap implications
- Jeff Skinner: one-year, $3 million deal signed in July 2024.
- Viktor Arvidsson: free-agent addition announced July 1, 2024, on a two-year deal at $4 million AAV.
The trade-off: every addition in a cap league has a cost somewhere else. Skinner and Arvidsson were low-risk swings — short-term money, no long-term cap damage if the fit fails.
What this means: the cap math now runs through two star contracts, and the team’s depth is the variable that decides how far they go.
The implication: the next two off-seasons will determine whether Edmonton maximizes McDavid’s prime the way the Gretzky-era front office maximized its own window.
Which Oilers Have Been Traded or Signed Recently?
Most of the roster news in Edmonton is about who arrived without a trade, not who left in one. The headline additions of the 2024 off-season were value signings, and the more recent story is an injury on the goaltending depth chart.
Free-agent additions: Skinner and Arvidsson
- Jeff Skinner — one year, $3 million (July 2024).
- Viktor Arvidsson — two years, $4 million AAV (announced July 1, 2024).
Both deals fit the same pattern: short term, moderate money, and a clean exit if the fit does not work.
Tyson Jarry injury: impact on goaltending depth
- Status: reportedly placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury in October 2025.
- Return timeline: not set.
The crease is the concern: Jarry’s absence leaves the goaltending depth unsettled, and his return timeline is the open variable.
Trade rumors and the 2026 deadline
- No confirmed blockbuster trades around the Oilers’ core were completed in the reporting period.
- The open question is what the front office adds before the 2026 trade deadline.
The Oilers’ needs are structural, not cosmetic: depth scoring and goaltending insurance. With McDavid locked in, every draft pick or prospect Edmonton moves becomes a bet on the next two postseasons.
The pattern: Edmonton’s recent moves have been low-cost and short-term — the opposite of the splashy mid-season trades the franchise made in earlier eras. That discipline is what keeps the McDavid cap structure intact.
Could Connor McDavid Leave the Oilers?
Before October 6, this was the loudest question around the franchise. After the extension, it has a different shape: McDavid is not leaving before 2028, but the clock is now visible on every decision the team makes.
McDavid’s contract status and no-move clause
- Status: final season of his 2017 deal in 2025-26, then two more years on the new extension (2026-27 and 2027-28).
- Control: three seasons of team control, 2025-26 through 2027-28.
- No-move protection: his previous contract included a full no-move clause.
The Associated Press (wire report) said McDavid took less than projected to prioritize a championship pursuit, and noted the Oilers are the only NHL organization he has played for.
Factors that could influence his decision
- Team performance: the Oilers finished 2024-25 at 50-26-6 with 106 points, second in the Pacific Division.
- Cap structure: McDavid’s $12.5 million hit and Draisaitl’s next deal determine how much talent surrounds him.
- Ownership: Katz has shown a willingness to fund a contender.
None of this guarantees a lifelong marriage — 2027-28 is a long way off, and the league can shift quickly. But a player who takes less to chase a championship in Edmonton has given the franchise a concrete window: three seasons to make the bet pay off.
McDavid’s decision is no longer a 2026 cliff; it is a 2028 expiration date. Every trade, signing, and playoff result between now and then is evidence the franchise is collecting for its own case.
Why this matters: the Oilers traded some future flexibility for present certainty. The extension protects the franchise from losing the sport’s best player on someone else’s timeline — and puts the burden on the organization to win soon.
Timeline: from Gretzky’s arrival to McDavid’s extension
- — Wayne Gretzky joined the Oilers as the franchise entered the NHL through the WHA merger.
- – — The Oilers won five Stanley Cups (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990).
- — Daryl Katz purchased the team for approximately $200 million.
- — Connor McDavid was named team captain.
- — Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson signed as free agents.
- — McDavid signed a two-year, $25 million extension (Associated Press (wire report)).
The pattern is clear: the franchise’s titles came in one concentrated run, and the current core is trying to reproduce that density — not just win one, but win in a cluster.
What’s confirmed, what’s still unclear
Some facts around this franchise are locked in; others are still moving. Here is the honest split.
Confirmed facts
- Forbes (billionaires profile) lists Daryl Katz as the majority owner of the Edmonton Oilers.
- The official Oilers release confirmed McDavid signed an eight-year, $100 million extension in 2017, then a two-year, $25 million extension on Oct. 6, 2025.
- Hockey-Reference lists Wayne Gretzky as the NHL all-time points leader with 2,857.
- Hockey-Reference (2024-25 Oilers) shows the team finished 50-26-6 with 106 points.
What’s unclear
- McDavid’s plans once the new deal expires after 2027-28.
- Leon Draisaitl’s next contract terms.
- Tyson Jarry’s return date from the lower-body injury.
- Which additions the front office makes before the 2026 trade deadline.
- Whether the short extension leads to a long-term deal or a new negotiation in 2028.
The balance of evidence: the confirmed side covers what the franchise has already done; the unclear side covers what the next 18 months will decide.
What the key voices are saying
The wire coverage around the October 6 extension settles on one theme: the best player in the sport chose to stay — and took less to do it.
“The best hockey player in the world.”
Widely considered the best ice hockey player on the planet.
The contract was announced Monday ahead of the 2025-26 season.
The pattern across the wire services is consistent: McDavid’s market value exceeded $12.5 million, and the gap between that value and his cap hit is the Oilers’ biggest competitive advantage.
The takeaway
The next two seasons will define whether this version of the Oilers — built around a $12.5 million captain who took less to win — cashes in. The roster is good enough to contend, the owner is willing to spend, and the cap math finally has a stable centerpiece. For the Oilers’ front office, the mandate is clear: add the right pieces before the 2026 deadline, or watch a championship-caliber window narrow one year at a time.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the Oilers’ best player right now?
Connor McDavid. He led the NHL with 132 points in 2023-24 and had 982 points as an Oiler as of October 2025.
Does Wayne Gretzky still own part of the Oilers?
No. Gretzky sold his minority stake in 1998 and no longer holds an ownership position with the franchise.
What is Connor McDavid’s salary in 2025-26?
McDavid’s cap hit for 2025-26 is $12.5 million. That same cap hit continues under the two-year, $25 million extension he signed on October 6, 2025.
Which Oilers players were traded in 2025?
No blockbuster trades involving the Oilers’ core were completed in the reporting period. The main recent additions came via free agency: Jeff Skinner (one year, $3 million) and Viktor Arvidsson (two years, $4 million AAV).
Is Leon Draisaitl expected to sign a new contract?
Extension talks are an open storyline. Draisaitl currently carries an $8.5 million AAV cap hit, and the terms of his next deal will shape how much room the Oilers have to fill out the rest of the roster.
How many Stanley Cups have the Oilers won?
Five, all between 1984 and 1990: 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990.
Who is the billionaire owner of the Oilers?
Daryl Katz, who bought the franchise in 2008 for approximately $200 million. Forbes estimated his net worth at $5.2 billion in 2025.
The short version: Edmonton’s next three seasons will be defined by McDavid’s cap hit, Draisaitl’s next deal, and the supporting cast the front office fits around both.
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Daniel Campbell is Editor-in-Chief at True North Brief, overseeing editorial standards, publication decisions and corrections.