Will just have to wait a little bit longer for Connor McDavid to join the Blackhawks

The dream of Connor McDavid someday coming to Chicago is not completely dead.

McDavid's short-term extension that he just signed with Edmonton still leaves the possibility that he will hit the free agent market. It will just be in 2028 instead of next summer.

I can wait.

Hopefully, that is when this immensely talented prospect pipeline has produced a championship core. Signing McDavid would then be the final piece the organization needs to win a Stanley Cup, much like when the Blackhawks added Marian Hossa in 2009.

The two-year, $25 million extension McDavid signed is a clear signal to the Edmonton brass that he is willing to leave in 2028 if he has not raised the Stanley Cup by then.

The Blackhawks might be at the point where they will have the supporting cast to finally give him a chance to win a championship if it does not happen with the Oilers.

Should have the salary cap space

The Blackhawks have just four players signed heading into the 2028-29 season, including key pieces, to a potential title team in Frank Nazar and Alex Vlasic.

Hopefully, Connor Bedard does not follow McDavid's lead and sign a short-term extension. If he is in the fold long-term, his projected cap hit should still not eat too much into the team's cap space.

Youngsters such as Sam Rinzel, Artyom Levshunov, Ryan Greene, Oliver Moore, and Landon Slaggert will also be owed extensions by then. General manager Kyle Davidson keeps finding ways to get his young talent to agree to team-friendly deals.

If that trend continues, and the salary cap continues to rise, then the Blackhawks should have the money to offer McDavid a contract to leave Canada--provided he has not won the Stanley Cup by then.

Two criteria must be met for McDavid to arrive in Chicago

You got to root for Stan Bowman to run the Edmonton Oilers like he ran the Blackhawks after the 2015 Stanley Cup. That was when he was incapable of putting a supporting cast around Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Duncan Keith to keep winning titles.

He gave a bad contract extension to Brent Seabrook and kept thinking that acquiring reclamation projects like Dylan Strome would keep a title window open.

If he runs the Oilers like he did during the Blackhawks' championship days, then it is likely McDavid is staying in Edmonton because he will have won the Stanley Cup.

The other part that must happen is that all this young talent must develop into championship-caliber players. Rinzel and Levshunov must become Norris Trophy-contending defensemen. Nazar must be a superstar by 2028.

Bedard has to be contending for the Hart Trophy. This year's No. 1 pick, Anton Frondell, must be a star, too.

The team's young talent has to come together and make the playoffs before McDavid hits the free agent market. Then you got a chance to entice him to come much like the franchise was able to land Hossa coming off getting to the 2009 Western Conference Finals.

I doubt McDavid is signing up just for the potential of Mason West being a superstar. He will only sign if he does not have a championship ring, and the Blackhawks offer his best opportunity to win it all.

If this promising talent regresses or stagnates, then the chances of appealing to McDavid in 2028 will be difficult.

Let's hope the Oilers' championship drought continues and the Blackhawks are on the cusp of winning one heading into the summer of 2028.