[stemit14]

On the topic of weaponizing cap space… it’s true that there is going to be a lot of growth in the salary cap the next few years so the value of cap space may not be as high as it has in the last 3-4 years. However, in the hilarious scenario where McDavid does not re-sign with the oilers - can anyone think of a team that might have a legit shot at signing him but would need to offload a contract or two to make room for say $18 million AAV?

Who could be seen as teams that could realistically have a chance at him? Obviously Calgary won’t be one but it would be hilarious if they helped another team clear space for McDavid in that scenario. Problem Calgary would have is that they are likely on the no trade list of any bad contract that other teams would look to unload.

I would think the following teams could have a decent chance to sign McDavid if he reaches free agency in 2026: Toronto, Chicago, LA, Vegas, Florida, New York, New Jersey and Dallas. There might be others but those are all teams that players tend to prefer to sign with and are mostly competitive teams with a decent chance of winning/being competitive for the next few years. Can’t think of many contracts that any of them have that would be considered bad enough to need offloading though - at least none that would still be in effect by the time McDavid would sign with them in the 2026 offseason.