“We kept f—— trying the same thing over and over and just banging our heads against the wall. Credit to them. They played well.” A frustrated Connor McDavid said this after the Edmonton Oilers lost the Stanley Cup to the Panthers for the second year in a row. Success turned its back on Edmonton once again. But life goes on, and no matter what happened in the finals, the Oilers captain has earned his time off. His fans, however, refuse to give him that break.

So, what happened was, it was Lauren Kyle and Laur’s birthday on June 26. Laur is McDavid and Lauren’s furry family member. On this beautiful occasion of the birthdays of McDavid’s favorite duo, he posted pictures of both on Instagram. The caption of the post goes like, “Happy Birthday, Laur! You too, Lenny, love you both so much ❤ ️.” The Edmonton Oilers, too, joined in on the celebrations as they posted “👏👏👏” in the comments section. But a section of his fans couldn’t care less. Their priorities lie elsewhere. 

And that is the Canadian’s future with the Edmonton Oilers. McDavid is due to hit free agency at the end of the 2025-26 season once his eight-year $100 million ($12.5 million AAV) contract expires.  While GM Stan Bowman maintains that he remains the Oilers’ “No. 1 priority”, McDavid is in “no rush” to put pen to paper. “I’m sure we’ll get into it over the course of the next couple of weeks, but I’m not in a rush to make any decision, so I don’t think that 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,” he said during the Oilers’ end-of-season media availability. 

His teammate, Leon Draisaitl, signed an eight-year $112 million ($ 14 million AAV) contract last year in September. However, it is quite likely that McDavid will become the highest-paid NHL player in terms of AAV, with NHL reporter Jason Gregor predicting that he may cross the $15 million mark. And going by fans’ comments on his birthday post for his wife, it doesn’t seem like they will not have any issues with how much the Oilers’ captain gets out of a future deal as long as that deal is with the Oilers.

First of all, a die-hard McDavid fan didn’t even bother to wish his wife and dog on birthday. “Please stay in Edmonton and win us a cup,” wrote one fan. While McDavid still remains without a Stanley Cup, his contributions have made the Oilers regular playoff customers. Since Connor entered the Oilers organization, the franchise has only missed the playoffs four times. Naturally, the Oilers faithful want their captain to go all the way. “Please re-sign McDavid, Job not finished,” wrote another netizen. 

One netizen, however, took issue with the community’s behavior. “Poor guy makes a post about his wife and dog, and y’all bombard him with hockey comments. 😭 Let him live,” they wrote. Lauren Kyle, wife of McDavid, turned 29 on June 26, 2025. Another fan also commented, “Happy Duo Birthday L&L McDavid! To joy, laughter, biscuits, and cakes.” But these were exceptions, really.

“Edmonton looks good on you. I’d say for at least nine years,” read another comment on the post. While fans and an attractive contract may lie in wait for his signature, McDavid has made it clear that winning the Stanley Cup is more important to him. Now, whether he feels he can do it with the Oilers is something that only time will tell. What do you think? Will McDavid decide on another stint with the Oilers or will he seek greener pastures? Let us know in the comments.