The Pittsburgh Penguins suffered through a rough all-around 2024-25 NHL season. When all was said and done, they finished the year with a 34-36-12 record.
Obviously, that isn’t where the Penguins wanted to be in the Eastern Conference. In fact, they were the second-worst team in the conference, ahead of just the Philadelphia Flyers.
In order to get back into Stanley Cup contention, Pittsburgh will need to get aggressive. There would be no better way to get aggressive than by pursuing an elite superstar like Connor McDavid. But, could that really be an option?
Entering the 2025-26 NHL season, McDavid will be heading into the final year of his contract with the Edmonton Oilers. He has helped lead the Oilers to back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances, but has come up short in both of them.
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With that being said, the Penguins have been named as a potential suitor for McDavid if he does reach NHL free agency next offseason.
Bleacher Report analyst Adam Gretz has named Pittsburgh as a team to watch for McDavid. He also explained his reasoning for naming the Penguins as a possible suitor.
“Imagine Crosby and McDavid on the same team for a few years before McDavid takes the torch and usher in a new chapter for the Penguins,” Gretz wrote. “The Penguins winning the Gavin McKenna lottery and having it play out that way is the more likely scenario, and it would track with the way the Penguins have acquired their previous collection of superstars, but this idea would be fun as well.”
Outside of Pittsburgh, Gretz listed six other teams as possible McDavid landing spots.
Recently, McDavid spoke out about his future with Edmonton. He’s obviously interested in staying with the team, but he wasn’t ready to fully commit to that.
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“Winning would be at the top of the list,” McDavid said. “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.”
McDavid will be a hot commodity if he does hit the market. The Oilers will do everything in their power to keep him in town, but that is not a guarantee at this point.
Should he become available, the Penguins might just be a potential contender to sign him.
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