Just like that it is all over. As time expired it seemed the Edmonton Oilers were just a tad short, the Florida Panthers regaining their defensive composure, Sergei Bobrovsky in vintage form, and the score 2–1 for the Panthers. The nature of a Stanley Cup Final Game 7 is to tint an entire season for the all time records, the relevance of the also-rans fading with time. Each of us will remember what could have been, an epic comeback slipping away in a cloud of smoke.
As much as it hurts this season should not be taken for granted. The die is cast for a number of storylines that inform valuations of players, coaches, and managers alike. Undoubtedly, hearts across Oil Country will take time to grieve illusions of glory, all the while suffering a comeuppance from many of the NHL’s other fanbases. To add to the drama, there is a sense of whiplash, with the 2024 NHL Entry Draft just days away. Next season is already upon us.
Many will need space after the crushing defeat of an incredible Oilers team, but the Oilers themselves must use their disappointment as a positive motivational tool towards the future at hand. In time the focus on next season will become clearer. If you’re ready, let’s untwist the knot between “what could have been” and “what could be.”
Near misses
As the playoff MVP, a rare addition to any resume, Connor McDavid is central to the story. There are not many individual trophies that McDavid hasn’t already won, and his performance was all-time, but it hardly matters. A bounce here or there and Game 7 might have been a true watershed moment for McDavid, a nearly unprecedented comeback that mirrored the team’s perilous journey to the Cup final, but it was not to be.
Beyond their captain, the rank of Stanley Cup champion bares with it a glow that would change the perception of all of the Oilers. The nebulous court of public opinion will be impacted. Contracts, a more tangible measurement, begin to reflect this. McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are good enough players that cups even matter to their legacies. A Cup winning Stuart Skinner might force himself onto a best-on-best team Canada. Mattias Janmark lands among Fernando Pisani in Oilers lore. Kris Knoblauch guarantees himself another NHL job at some point. Ken Holland, on the last year of his deal, hits the open market on a high.
Front office
In the end, McDavid and the Oilers fell a bit short, but they need not look far for answers. Not only has the core of this team continued to push further again and again, but the Panthers themselves reached their goal after a final loss to the Vegas Golden Knights last season. It is a long road back to this point, but there is a lot of reason for optimism ahead for the Oilers.
Despite the uncertainty with Holland’s future as Oilers GM, there are some tea leaves to read. It seems that Holland might have interest elsewhere, and that Oilers President Jeff Jackson has had a great deal of influence on the operation in his first season with the team. Rick Pracey was brought in as director of amateur scouting, Michael Parkatti as senior director of data and analytics. Kris Knoblauch, McDavid’s junior coach, was surely known to Jackson, McDavid’s former agent.
Fans might have split opinions on Holland, but his Oilers consistently improved over his tenure, becoming a perennial powerhouse like no Oilers team this millennium. Regardless of what happens with Holland, the Oilers seem to be in capable hands. Outside of winning the Cup, the Oilers main goal is to build a program strong enough that McDavid and Draisaitl are eager to stay with. Jackson is still early in his tenure, but the Oilers front office seems to be in a great place.
Roster outlook
In the coming days we will learn of the Oilers injuries. In the coming weeks there will be tons of player movement, contracts signed, trades, draft selections, and decisions to be made. No team is perfect, much less in the salary cap era, but the Oilers have many avenues to try to do so. There will be time to sort through the minutiae, but not much time. The good news is that the Oilers seem to be in a stable place up top.
The Oilers showed that they have a great blueline, the emergence of Philip Broberg. Along with Evan Bouchard, Broberg proving more than capable of a regular lineup spot gives the Oiler two young defencemen to keep the blueline strong as veterans like Mattias Ekholm and Darnell Nurse age. Not trading Broberg has paid off and will continue to do so. In net, Skinner has continued to grow, and is young enough that many of his best years lie ahead. Olivier Rodrigue has been developing nicely, though hardly a lock to help the Oilers long term, giving the team some version of stability at the sport’s most important position.
While both these positions could very well be improved upon for next season, the Oilers have enough that McDavid and Draisaitl will have a quality team to work with into any hypothetical future contracts. Not only does this make the Oilers a more desirable option for McDavid and Draisaitl, but also many other players. There might be some long term work to be done at forward, but the Oilers have a lot to work with there. The more crucial support to a pair of all-world centres is the backbone of a strong defence and goaltending situation.
Big picture
When the Oilers were swept by the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference final of 2021–22, it was clear they were not in a class of a true champion. When they lost to the eventual champion Vegas Golden Knights in 2022–23 they were not either, but they were closer. For a third straight season the Oilers lost to the Cup winners, this time against the Florida Panthers. Once again they were not there, but this time they were impossibly close.
Even through this very season, the Oilers faced their share of adversity and battled back each time. There is no reason to think that they will stop now. Progress is not always linear, but there is a clear a framework as ever that the Oilers are on a stable and upward trend.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
One Comment