For the second straight season, the Edmonton Oilers came up short against the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup final.
That has observers wondering what off-season moves could be in store for this club.
Last summer, the Oilers re-signed Adam Henrique, Mattias Janmark, Connor Brown and Corey Perry, signed free agents Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner and acquired Ty Emberson and Vasily Podkolzin. During the season, they added Jake Walman, Kasperi Kapanen, Trent Frederic, John Klingberg and Max Jones.
This summer will be the first full off-season under GM Stan Bowman. He faces some significant decisions over the next three months.
The Athletic's Daniel Nugent-Bowman observed that Connor McDavid can sign a contract extension on July 1. The 28-year-old Oilers superstar is a year away from UFA eligibility, but it's assumed he'll stay in Edmonton, especially after Leon Draisaitl signed a long-term extension last fall.
Justin Tasch of the New York Post believes McDavid's future will dominate the NHL off-season. A massive long-term extension awaits if he commits to the Oilers. If McDavid has doubts, Tasch believes they'll trade him rather than risk losing him to next summer's free-agent market.
TSN's Darren Dreger does not doubt that McDavid will re-sign with the Oilers. For him, the question is how long of a commitment he's willing to make.
Bowman will likely want to get this piece of business done as quickly as possible. The longer McDavid goes without an extension, the more speculation and wishful thinking linking him to other clubs will emerge in the rumor mill during the summer's dog days.
Signing Evan Bouchard is another pressing concern. The 25-year-old puck-moving defenseman is an RFA with arbitration rights. He'll be seeking a big raise over the $3.9 million average annual value of his expiring contract.
Former NHL player agent Brian Lawton believes Bouchard and the Oilers will work something out. Nugent-Bowman pointed out that the Oilers have $12 million in cap space and speculated that Bouchard could take up three-quarters of it.
However, a subsequent report by Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli claimed the Oilers are expected to sign Frederic to an eight-year deal with an average annual value of $4 million. That would leave them with no cap room for Bouchard unless Bowman intends to make a cost-cutting move or two.
Nugent-Bowman and The Hockey News’ Ken Campbell and Adam Proteau believe the Oilers' goaltending remains a big question mark. The tandem of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard struggled against the Panthers, which have a potential future Hall of Famer, Sergei Bobrovsky, between the pipes.
Skinner and Pickard have a year left on their contract with affordable cap hits, but Nugent-Bowman wondered if they'll be back. Gerry Moddejonge of the Edmonton Journal raised the possibility of Skinner becoming an early-summer trade candidate.
The Edmonton Oilers Should Learn From The Champs And Make Bold MovesThe Edmonton Oilers once again came up short in the Stanley Cup final, falling to the Florida Panthers for the second year in a row.
Meanwhile, The Hockey News’ Caleb Kearney suggested the Oilers attempt to acquire RFA winger JJ Peterka from the Buffalo Sabres. However, they could lack the suitable trade assets and cap space required to pull this off.
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