Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
The Oilers could see the Panthers celebrating on the ice and hear them down the hall.
Florida won its first Stanley Cup late Monday night, besting Edmonton 2-1 in Game 7 after blowing a 3-0 lead in the title series.
The Panthers will spend the summer sipping from hockey’s holy grail. Meanwhile, the Oilers have plenty of questions about the future.
It’s sure to be a fascinating off-season in Alberta’s capital city.
At the top of the list is the future of star center Leon Draisaitl. The big German, who has one year left on his current contract that carries an average annual value of US$8.5 million, is eligible to sign an extension on July 1.
Will he put pen to paper immediately, negotiate a new deal throughout the summer or inform the team that he intends to move on?
If it’s the third option – Matthew Tkachuk did the same with the Calgary Flames two summers ago before being shipped to Florida – do the Oilers let him play out his contract in hopes of another long spring run next and risk losing Draisaitl for free? Or is Edmonton making a trade?
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In the job since May 2019, Edmonton general manager Ken Holland appears to be heading out the door after five seasons at the helm.
Who does Oilers CEO Jeff Jackson, the former agent for superstar captain Connor McDavid, choose to replace the veteran executive?
Although some of Holland’s moves have been questioned and the prospect pool is shallow after a number of trades including picking up draft picks to beef up the roster, there is no doubt that he steadied the ship after a series of mistakes by previous regimes.
The Oilers finished 23rd in the NHL in 2018 with 78 points and followed that up with a 25th place finish in 2019 with 79 points before he took over. Edmonton reached the Western Conference final in 2022 and the second round the following spring – losing both times to the eventual Cup winners.
In 2024, the Oilers fell one win short in the 1,400th game of the NHL season.
Aside from the Draisaitl situation, whoever is in the GM chair will also have to make decisions on a host of pending unrestricted free agents, including forwards Connor Brown, Adam Henrique, Mattias Janmark, Corey Perry, Warren Foegele and Sam Carrick .
Vincent Desharnais also needs a new defense contract, while backup goaltender Calvin Pickard sits in the same boat.
The Oilers have to decide what to do with Jack Campbell, who represents what was perhaps Holland’s biggest gaffe.
The goaltender signed a five-year, $25 million contract in July 2022 to be Edmonton’s No. 1 crease option, but never found traction with his new team after leaving the Toronto Maple Leafs. Campbell lost the starting job to Stuart Skinner and was eventually placed on waivers before being demoted to the American Hockey League.
With three seasons remaining on his contract, the 32-year-old could be bought out.
The elephant in the Oilers room will be what McDavid thinks about how this all plays out. Only he knows the answer.
The 27-year-old has two seasons left on his current contract that pays him $12.5 million annually.
If Draisaitl leaves, does McDavid eventually follow him out the door?
Or does the band—as much of it as can fit under the salary cap—stay together in hopes of more success down the road?
The answers to the long list of questions will start coming soon.
& copy 2024 The Canadian Press
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
source link https://globalnews.ca/news/10586343/edmonton-oilers-stanley-cup-loss-offseason-preview/
