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Vancouver Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- Vancouver Sun
Edmonton Oilers' quest for Cup falls short again, what happens now?
After the Edmonton Oilers chase for their first Stanley Cup in 35 years ended two games short this June after being just 60 minutes away from the big prize in 2024, here's the sobering truth. Florida's fourth-liner Jonah Gadjovich now has two Stanley Cup rings. The best player in hockey, Connor McDavid , still has none. Same with superstar teammate Leon Draisaitl, by every measure, one of the top half dozen players in the world. We know the vagaries of this two-month tournament but how can this be? How did Edmonton become The City of Slumped Shoulders and Florida become the State of Hockey, first with the Tampa Bay Lightning, now with the Panthers? Four Cups. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The way the Panthers went about their work in this series, scoring early and often and making the Oilers chase, seemed on a continuing loop. They were way better in this Final, even if it went six and could be back again next spring because the Maple Leafs who gave Florida their biggest playoff scare, are losing Mitch Marner. Tampa is getting old, Carolina can't get past the third round, no matter what and Washington can't score enough. The Oilers? They rolled over Vegas and Dallas but were basically infield practice for Florida after the first two games that went to overtime. 'A well-oiled machine and I'm talking Florida,' said Wayne Gretzky, one of TNT's between periods commentators. Pun intended. The Oilers only led for 34 minutes in the Final and never won a game in regulation, just two in OT. Truth is, last year's Oilers team gave the Panthers more fits, winning three in a row to get it to Game 7. This year's Oilers, in total win-now mode, were outscored 10-0 in the first period over the last four games, Sergei Bobrovsky, who was not good before Paul Maurice came in and put a defensive structure in place, was better than Stuart Skinner in net. Sam Reinhart, who'll be playing with McDavid in the 2026 Olympics, had seven goals in Stanley Cup Final (four in Game 6), Brad Marchand had six and Conn Smythe winner Sam Bennett five for Florida. McDavid, as industrious as he was, had just one and Draisaitl, who didn't have a shot on goal in Game 6, had the OT winners. So here we have it. The last three trips to the Stanley Cup Final for the Oilers, after they won five times over a seven-year span from 1984 to 1990 have ended with a gut-punch. In 2006, they lost in Game 7 in Carolina In 2024 they lost in Game 7 in Florida. In 2025 they fell short in Game 6. Same place. Sunrise, sunset for the Oilers Stanley Cup dream, again. 'What's the takeaway from this? That we didn't win,' said Draisaitl, who didn't have a shot in Game 6 and was -4, same as McDavid. 'Nobody cares (breaking down the reasons). 'We didn't win. We'll try again next year.' But again, that's 82 more games, just to qualify for the two-month Cup grind and having to get past any combination of the Avalanche, the Golden Knights, Dallas, Winnipeg and probably those old LA Kings in the tougher Western Conference, just for another shot. Maybe against the Panthers who might not be a dynasty (three straight titles gives you that designation) but they've been to the last dance three straight years, no mean feat, losing to Vegas in 2023. McDavid, who can start talking about an extension July 1 (does he sign for eight years, does he opt for a shorter term?) knew they were beaten by a better team. No woulda, shoulda, couldas, although not having Zach Hyman (wrist surgery) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins compromised by an injury but playing, certainly hurt. 'Nobody quit, nobody threw in the towel but they're a heck of a team, they're back-to-back champions for a reason. They're as deep as it comes. How many of their guys had 20-plus points in the post-season?' said McDavid. No argument from Draisaitl who thought that trying to beat this year's Panthers team was a rockier hill to climb because the third line of Marchand, Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen killed them this time around. They couldn't handle them, at all.. 'They were deeper. How many goals did their third line score (in the series)? Until tonight (Reinhart) it wasn't their top two lines, really. Their third line did a lot of damage,' he said. So here we are. Lessons learned? Stuart Skinner thinks so. 'As a team we need to learn from this right away, right now. Letting it happen two times in a row… it's devastating,' said Skinner. Now what? McDavid and Draisaitl are in their primes and still can't win. Yeah, we know, it took Alex Ovechkin 14 years in Washington and Steve Yzerman 14 in Detroit after their draft years. The dream didn't die with them, lots of deep sighs and soul-searching. But McDavid and Draisaitl are fast approaching frustration. Not that they'll admit it. Draisaitl has an eight-year $112 million contract starting next season which will buy a fleet of luxury cars for the German-born centre, and not just Mercedes. But he is 11 years into his NHL career, 886 games in, and can't buy a win. Same with McDavid, who has played 808 games with the Oilers. McDavid is 10 years into this hard road to the Cup chase and while his next contract, starting in 2026, might be $160 million if he goes eight years and he has a beautiful wife, a big house and his health, he does not have the sporting thing he wants most. He's not alone in this falling short. There's Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, an Oiler since 2011. He's played 1,055 games including playoffs. There's Darnell Nurse, an Oiler since being drafted in 2013. He's played exactly 800 games. There's Corey Perry, at 40, with 1,629 NHL games, with five losses in the Cup Final. Dallas, Montreal, Tampa and twice with Edmonton. Yeah, he did win once in 2007 but he was as half as old then, and he's played 1,459 games since that Cup celebration with Anaheim. What happens now? You only get so many cracks at this. There's no guarantee that the Oilers will be back on this stage in 2026, not in the gauntlet Western Conference, including Los Angeles, if they can maybe sign free-agent Mitch Marner. This Oilers team, built to win now, the oldest team in the NHL, will not be the same iteration next season. It can't be. Now starts the forensic audit on another loss. They have six unrestricted free agents, just two weeks from the opening of free-agency — Perry, Connor Brown, Jeff Skinner, John Klingberg, Trent Frederic, Kasperi Kapanen and Derek Ryan. They can't or won't sign them all, and Ryan, 38, who never got into a playoff game, is likely retiring to his home in Spokane. They'll certainly want Perry back, off his 29 goals in 103 games, if he'll take the same $1.15 million he was making this past season. They value Brown's penalty-killing and versatility, again if he wants to take about $2 million a year. They're trying to sign Frederic, in part because they gave up a second-round draft pick to Boston to get him and they figure he can be a third-line winger. He only had four points in the playoffs, hopefully because he hadn't recovered fully from his high-ankle sprain. Whatever, he's a big body and only 27, so he'll be back if he likes the offer. Jeff Skinner was maybe the most dangerous players for the Oilers for two periods in Game 6 but you can probably say goodbye after his five playoff games after being in none until this past season. Coach Kris Knoblauch never warmed to him. Klingberg was a good fit after they took a shot at him after his hip issues, but they may like Brett Kulak, who can play both defence sides, more. He's got one year left at $2.75 million. And they have young right-shot Ty Emberson, who played 76 league games, but lost his job in the playoffs, and Troy Stecher, both signed. Kapanen, if he wants to sign for another $1 million after being a waiver claim last November, is useful for his speed, his hitting and his penalty-killing but his game goes in and out. That's been the book on him for years. He did get six points in 12 playoff games, though, after just 13 in 57 regular season games. Off his usage this season and his salary point ($4 million), they'll probably be making trade calls on Viktor Arvidsson with one year left on his deal. He's way too expensive for a bottom six winger. And what happens with Evander Kane? He's got another year at $5.13 million, and he had just two points in the Stanley Cup Final, and was healthy. Maybe with one year left and motivation to get another contract, they keep him. But, maybe they try and move him, too, although it won't be easy. Who knows what happens with the goaltending? Maybe they feel they need an upgrade on Skinner after GM Stan Bowman wouldn't go that route at the trade deadline although he's cheap at $2.6 million and only 26 and who knows who that would be, no matter the howls of Oilers fans. Skinner did outplay Jake Oettinger for a second straight year in the Western Conference Final against Dallas and had back-to-back shutouts against Vegas in the second round. But he gave up 17 goals in five starts against Florida. They have to inject some cheaper, younger players. Matt Savoie, 21 is a given on the wing somewhere off his 54 points in 66 games in Bakersfield. College free-agent signee winger Quinn Hutson, 23, who got into two late-season games, and farm team centre Noah Philp, 26, who played 15 games with the Oilers who could slot in as a fourth-line centre, have legitimate shots too. Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters . You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post, and 13 other Canadian news sites. The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun
Edmonton Journal
2 days ago
- Sport
- Edmonton Journal
Edmonton Oilers' quest for Cup falls short again, what happens now?
Article content We know the vagaries of this two-month tournament but how can this be? How did Edmonton become The City of Slumped Shoulders and Florida become the State of Hockey, first with the Tampa Bay Lightning, now with the Panthers? Four Cups. The way the Panthers went about their work in this series, scoring early and often and making the Oilers chase, seemed on a continuing loop. They were way better in this Final, even if it went six and could be back again next spring because the Maple Leafs who gave Florida their biggest playoff scare, are losing Mitch Marner. Tampa is getting old, Carolina can't get past the third round, no matter what and Washington can't score enough. The Oilers? They rolled over Vegas and Dallas but were basically infield practice for Florida after the first two games that went to overtime. 'A well-oiled machine and I'm talking Florida,' said Wayne Gretzky, one of TNT's between periods commentators.
