Oilers CEO Jeff Jackson Discusses How Close Edmonton Came to Trading Connor McDavid Amidst Contract Saga

Throughout the offseason and the preseason rumors and reports were running wild regarding Connor McDavid's future with the Edmonton Oilers.

The longer that McDavid remained unsigned the more it seemed plausible that the Oilers would be willing to at least discuss trades involving him.

In the days before he did re-sign things got to the point where potential new destinations for McDavid began being reported as teams tried to reach out with offer for Edmonton.

Even still, McDavid signed a two-year extension committing to the Oilers and pushing toward that elusive Stanley Cup.

Now, in the aftermath, Oilers CEO Jeff Jackson confirms how close a trade really came to happening for the Oilers.

During a recent talk with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, Jackson directly addressed the trade rumors surrounding McDavid during negotiations.

He confirmed that teams were considering trading for McDavid but no offers were ever officially made and the team never truly considered moving him.

While this was speculated all along that the Oilers had no interest in trading McDavid it has now been confirmed by the organization and should put fans at ease for when McDavid's contract is up again in a few years.

Regardless, the Oilers and McDavid will have three seasons to go all in on winning a Stanley Cup with McDavid even taking a discount to allow the team some extra flexibility in adding talent in free agency or through trades.

It seems as though the Oilers are committed to McDavid until he decides to go elsewhere and will not be trading him anytime soon unless something drastic changes the circumstances of the situation.