Oilers sign McDavid to 8-year, $100M extension

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid signed an eight-year, $100 million contract extension on Wednesday, the team announced.

The deal, which will begin in 2018-19, will carry an annual cap hit of $12.5 million. That total bests the top annual salary of $10.5 million held by Chicago Blackhawks stars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, as well as Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price.

McDavid's deal is the fourth richest in league history in terms of dollars, trailing only Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin ($124 million), Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber ($110 million) and Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby ($104.4 million). Eight years is the maximum term allowed under the current collective bargaining agreement.

"I'm so excited to wear the Oilers jersey for the next nine years," McDavid said Wednesday. "I'm in it for the long haul. I want to win here."

McDavid concluded a career year in 2016-17 by capturing the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer, the Hart Trophy as the NHL's MVP and the Ted Lindsay Award as the league's most outstanding player in the regular season as judged by the members of the NHL Players Association.

The 20-year-old center led the league in assists (70) and points (100) during the regular season. His 27 power-play points, six game-winning goals and 21:07 average ice time were tops on his team.

McDavid added five goals and four assists in 13 playoff games as upstart Edmonton advanced to the second round before getting ousted in seven games by the Pacific Division champion Anaheim Ducks.

McDavid has collected 46 goals, 102 assists and 44 penalty minutes in 127 career contests since being selected by Edmonton with the first overall pick of the 2015 NHL draft.

The Ontario native has represented his native Canada in four international competitions, with a nine-point performance (one goal, eight assists) in 10 games coming during his team's gold medal-winning effort at the 2016 World Hockey Championship. He also represented Canada at the 2015 World Junior Hockey Championship, the 2014 World Junior Hockey Championship and the 2013 U18 World Hockey Championship.