One likely scenario is that he doesn't want to sign but also doesn't want to be traded. He will want to see what's up with McDavid the following year and perhaps get more negotiating power that way.
The funny thing is that he could absolutely Hanifin this situation. Actually, even easier than Noah, he could submit a 10 team trade list of non playoff teams and let them all know that he has no intention of signing an extension with them. Tell the Oilers he'll re-visit negotiations in the summer and take one more flaccid stab at this thing.
|