The Edmonton Oilers are facing another offseason of great pain after losing to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row. Connor McDavid's status as one of the best players in the NHL remains unchanged, but the superstar is still without a championship. He's also entering the final year of his contract with the Oilers next season. That combination makes for quite the rumor mill as fans wonder if McDavid will head elsewhere to etch his name on the Cup.

McDavid met with media on Thursday, three days after his season was once again ended by the Panthers. He was asked a few times about his future in Edmonton and was mostly noncommittal, saying there was no rush to make a decision; he can't sign an extension until July 1 no matter how he feels about it.

"It's only been a couple days since the season ended," McDavid said. "Take some time to regroup, talk to my agent a little bit, family and all that and make some decisions whenever that times comes. But there's no rush on anything like that."

However, McDavid also made it clear he has no problem signing again if he feels he can win with the Oilers.

"Winning would be at the top of the list," McDavid said when asked what his priorities are as he evaluates whether to sign an extension in Edmonton. "Winning is the most important thing. If I think there's a good window to win here, over and over again, then signing is no problem... I'm not in a rush to make any decision. So I don't think there needs to be any timeline. I know people are going to look at that July 1 day and be looking to see if there's anything done but for me I'm just not in a rush that way."

The 2025-26 NHL season will mark the last of McDavid's eight-year, $100 million deal with Edmonton. While he didn't give much indication one way or the other if he plans to sign a new deal this summer, one thing is very clear: McDavid will be doing this on his timeline.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Connor McDavid Addresses Future With Oilers After Another Crushing Stanley Cup Final Loss.

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