2025/2026 Season Trade Rumours and Speculation Thread

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

I remember when McDavid was about to be drafted, and the word was that he was essentially worth around 1 billion dollars to whatever club ended up drafting him. Although I am sure that Katz made a lot of money on the real estate deals in the Crystal Meth...err.. I mean Ice District, it wouldn't surprise me at all if McDavid brought 1 billion to the Oilers with a combination of increased revenue, and the increased valuation of the club itself.

I don't remember such a number being thrown around at all, to tell you the truth. You could buy an entire NHL franchise for a lot less than a billion dollars in 2015. Vegas paid $500 million for an expansion team with the rules adjusted to make them competitive right away.

Hopefully Calgary hits on a 'star' player. I would imagine the valuation of Calgary's team would increase dramatically with the new building, a star selling a lot more merch, having more on-ice success, and creating more fans in general.

The new building is happening anyway. The on-ice success doesn't depend on a single star player nearly as much as most people think it does. (Quick, how many of the last 10 Stanley Cup champions had Connor McDavid on the roster?)

Furthermore, nobody is talking about any of the prospects in the 2026 draft as the next McDavid or anywhere near it. Even if your extreme case is valid (and I don't think the numbers check out), it's simply not available to any team that happens to draft #1 overall. And you have to win the lottery even to do that.

All this diminishes the value of a deliberate tank greatly.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by OILFAN #81

Not really. Oilers have beat the Sharks in 16 of the past 17 meetings. Sharks are up and coming but not there yet.

I mean they have been tanking for years not much of a brag

[Harry Lime]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I think that just means Seattle had agreed with the Rangers on what an extension and trade would look like. Panarin said no.

Jt Miller and Shane Wright together might be the locker room from hell. Might as well add Evander Kane.

[The EBUG's EBUG]

Originally Posted by Harry Lime

Jt Miller and Shane Wright together might be the locker room from hell. Might as well add Evander Kane.

Is Wright a problem on that level? The other two have documented instances of being polarizing characters (putting it mildly), has that been proven to be the case with Wright?

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by D as in David

I have to respectfully disagree with you on this point. An asset that becomes revenue-producing sooner than another has a greater net present value. For example, no one's buying a jersey with a name plate of "2029 2nd rounder" but Basha's will show up on one (hopefully) soon.

Sure. But picks aren't entirely fungible - every draft, and every player is different.

There is also real value in having prospects being spread out with respect to having them come off their ELCs - having them all needing new contracts at the same time has negative value.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by kehatch

If Conroy had the choice between a 2026 first and second vs a 2027 first and 2028 second which would he take? I think we both know it would be the 2026 picks. For the simple fact that the asset you draft with the pick is available one or two years sooner.

As for keeping Andersson resulting in a better return, that is unlikely. Andersson with term is worth more then Andersson without, especially given his value contract. Keeping him was also part of us finishing middle of the pack, giving our higher pick to Monahan, and reduced the teams interested to the ones that are likely going to be very competitive meaning the first we acquired is probably later. Trading players as rentals is rarely the best way to maximize a return.

We don't know which Conroy would choose, and it would be a function of which draft he liked best, I would suspect. Drafts are not equal.

And since there is uncertainty with future drafts, diversification has value - having extra picks annually is more valuable that having them all in one year. It's a safer strategy.

Also, the further out a pick is, the more uncertainty there is with respect to the performance of the team in question. Teams picking up assets tend to be teams at the top of the standings. Having picks further out increases the possibility of those picks being higher slotted.

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

I don't remember such a number being thrown around at all, to tell you the truth. You could buy an entire NHL franchise for a lot less than a billion dollars in 2015. Vegas paid $500 million for an expansion team with the rules adjusted to make them competitive right away.



The new building is happening anyway. The on-ice success doesn't depend on a single star player nearly as much as most people think it does. (Quick, how many of the last 10 Stanley Cup champions had Connor McDavid on the roster?)

Furthermore, nobody is talking about any of the prospects in the 2026 draft as the next McDavid or anywhere near it. Even if your extreme case is valid (and I don't think the numbers check out), it's simply not available to any team that happens to draft #1 overall. And you have to win the lottery even to do that.

All this diminishes the value of a deliberate tank greatly.

I don't know how much money McDavid has made the Oilers but its a ton. Even after he's gone, he'll have generated a ton of life long fans. As an old non-Albertan, the Gretzky years created a ton of Oiler fans around here and the McDavid years are doing the same.

The last Forbes valuations had the Oilers as the 4th most valuable franchise despite playing in a tiny media market. IF that's true - its hard to argue he's not been worth a billion dollars to them.

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

I don't know how much money McDavid has made the Oilers but its a ton. Even after he's gone, he'll have generated a ton of life long fans. As an old non-Albertan, the Gretzky years created a ton of Oiler fans around here and the McDavid years are doing the same.

The last Forbes valuations had the Oilers as the 4th most valuable franchise despite playing in a tiny media market. IF that's true - its hard to argue he's not been worth a billion dollars to them.

This is true for Gretzky because he won. I think the next few years will be telling towards his legacy. The manner he leaves Edmonton will impact things as well as if he wins anything in the final couple years. Witht he current roster build I don't think it happens there. If he leaves and goes to Toronto and wins I think the possibility of resentment increases.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

The last Forbes valuations had the Oilers as the 4th most valuable franchise despite playing in a tiny media market. IF that's true - its hard to argue he's not been worth a billion dollars to them.

The sweetheart arena deal and the general inflation in franchise values have probably added more than McDavid has.

I'd be suspicious of Forbes' valuation on this one, because back-to-back runs to the SCF have given the Oilers a big injection of non-repeatable revenue. If the Oilers came up for sale, the new owner would not be getting a Stanley Cup finalist every year. Forbes won't be so sanguine about a small market team in the middle of the pack.

More generally speaking, the NHL is talking about charging $2 billion for the next expansion franchise. Vegas paid $500 million less than a decade ago. Needless to say, expansion teams are not getting a McDavid for their money.

[Monahammer]

The lamest people on earth are fans of corporations.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Sure. But picks aren't entirely fungible - every draft, and every player is different.

There is also real value in having prospects being spread out with respect to having them come off their ELCs - having them all needing new contracts at the same time has negative value.

That, and they all need ice time and somewhere to play. It's better to stagger it a little bit for the quality of their development. There are only so many roster spots available.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

The lamest people on earth are fans of corporations.

[Jason14h]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

The sweetheart arena deal and the general inflation in franchise values have probably added more than McDavid has.

I'd be suspicious of Forbes' valuation on this one, because back-to-back runs to the SCF have given the Oilers a big injection of non-repeatable revenue. If the Oilers came up for sale, the new owner would not be getting a Stanley Cup finalist every year. Forbes won't be so sanguine about a small market team in the middle of the pack.

More generally speaking, the NHL is talking about charging $2 billion for the next expansion franchise. Vegas paid $500 million less than a decade ago. Needless to say, expansion teams are not getting a McDavid for their money.

From today luckily we have some answers

The Edmonton Oilers were one of the most profitable franchises in all of sports last year, despite being considered less valuable than dozens of other clubs, Forbes magazine's annual analysis suggests.

The Oilers’ were estimated to have earned roughly $341.1 million — $244 million US — in operating income last year, tying the NFL's Los Angeles Rams for third on the magazine’s top-20 list of most profitable sports teams in 2025.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...ofit-9.7070143

[Harry Lime]

Originally Posted by The EBUG's EBUG

Is Wright a problem on that level? The other two have documented instances of being polarizing characters (putting it mildly), has that been proven to be the case with Wright?

There's been a lot of smoke for a long time. I think its arrogant kid syndrome, which some people grow out of.

[Toonage]

The Habs likely left him with an enormous chip on his shoulder that he might be struggling with.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

From today luckily we have some answers




https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...ofit-9.7070143

It is crazy what McDavid has done for that organization on and off the ice. Post McDavid should be fun.