Connor McDavid and Connor Bedard could become teammates after wild new report
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Scott Powers says the Chicago Blackhawks believe they have the pieces for Connor McDavid.
What Chicago would actually be acquiring is barely discussed.
Powers made the comment on The Athletic's Blackhawks podcast, tying Chicago's confidence to the working history between general manager Kyle Davidson and Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman.
Davidson began in Chicago as an intern in 2010 and was promoted to assistant general manager under Bowman in 2019.
"The Blackhawks are heavily monitoring McDavid and feel that they have the pieces to land him should he request a trade out of Edmonton next summer. Davidson and Bowman have a great relationship stretching back to his time in a Chicago."
- Scott Powers
- Scott Powers
The Blackhawks also carry real ammunition, with a league-leading prospect pool and roughly $40 million in projected cap space entering this season, per PuckPedia.
There is no trade request. McDavid signed a two-year, $25 million extension last October that runs through the 2027-28 season.
That date is the whole story.
The 2027 window is a rental, not an acquisition
If McDavid asked out next summer, the acquiring team would receive one season before he reaches unrestricted free agency on July 1, 2028.
Chicago finished 29-39-14 in 2025-26. A single McDavid season does not turn that roster into a Stanley Cup contender.
So the Blackhawks would not be trading a top prospect pool for a player. They would be trading it for twelve months of exclusive negotiating rights.
That is a recruiting tool, not a hockey trade, and it prices out fewer rivals than the framing suggests.
Edmonton's coaching gamble matters more than Chicago's prospects
The Edmonton Oilers fired Kris Knoblauch in May after a first-round loss to the Anaheim Ducks and hired Mike Babcock in June.
Whether Connor McDavid ever reaches the market depends far more on that hire than on Anton Frondell or Artyom Levshunov.
Edmonton would also be selling its captain to a Western Conference rival a year early.
There is a strange symmetry here.
Jeff Blashill, now coaching Chicago, replaced Babcock in Detroit in 2015.
Both benches are again shaping a decision neither coach controls.
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