There's a lot of speculation regarding Connor McDavid's whereabouts after 2025-26. He wants to win with the Edmonton Oilers, but he also wants them to provide a winning team. That includes solid goaltending and a backchecking group, which has been the Oilers' Achilles heel.
Imagine the reaction of Oilers fans everywhere...
To make things worse, some are speculating on his future whereabouts, should he spurn Edmonton. One of those destinations? Las Vegas.
https://t.co/rblAKkSOVK pic.twitter.com/ee506OmQiX
— Travis Yost (@travisyost) September 4, 2025
Now, Vegas Golden Knights fans have made their voices heard on whether they'd rather have the Oilers' gigastar or Jack Eichel. It's apparent that the former second-overall draft pick is beloved in the Las Vegas community, making him the preferred option.
Besides, Eichel has something that McDavid doesn't: A Stanley Cup. He did it on a team that didn't exceed $10 million AAV for a single player, marking a new era of balance and cohesiveness in the NHL. Why go for the big fish when you have someone who's also elite?
There's another reason why losing Eichel for McDavid would be disastrous for the Golden Knights. Fans would also say goodbye to a rising superstar who provides a much-needed youth injection. After all, he didn't lead the team in goals last season for nothing (35)!
Is it worth sacrificing Pavel Dorofeyev to sign Connor McDavid?
There's a major problem with getting Connor McDavid on board for the Vegas Golden Knights. No, it doesn't involve the Oilers gigastar sucking, which is far from true. Instead, it has to do with the cost.
He's expected to get a significant pay bump from his current $12.5 million AAV cap hit, making him one of the highest-paid players ever. We're talking about going beyond Leon Draisaitl's current $14 million cap hit (imagine a $17 million AAV deal). That could be problematic considering the Golden Knights have $20.375 million in cap space to work with next summer.
That's especially true after Dorofeyev's 35-goal performance drove his price tag up from last season. With the Russian winger becoming a restricted free agent after this season, it could become an issue if he duplicates his 2024-25 season. Throw in Dorofeyev being arbitration-eligible and things could get dicey quickly.
Sometimes, the devil you know is better than the devil you don't, specifically for the Vegas Golden Knights here
Look, I would love nothing more than to have Connor McDavid on the Golden Knights. You'd rustle your bitter rival's jimmies to the point where they'd have a similar nuclear meltdown to the one seen in Toronto. Plus, adding McDavid would catapult the Golden Knights to Stanley Cup favorites for the next few years.
But there's a lesson to be learned here. Sometimes, the devil you know is better than the devil you don't. Las Vegas has seen what Jack Eichel can do when given a full season (or near a full season) to work with. He's capable of being the elite center everyone's expected him to be and he showed it in 2024-25.
Thus, it'd be wise for Kelly McCrimmon to stick with whom he knows better. If David Pagnotta is saying that Jack Eichel will probably get a deal worth $13 million or $13.5 million, that's much better than, say, $17 million AAV.
Even with a short-term deal, that rings true. McCrimmon's never been one to sacrifice value for the biggest stars, so why does that end here? Why not go with Eichel and Dorofeyev for a few more years and extend your window further?