Whether the Edmonton Oilers win or lose Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final tonight, the drama and emotion heading into the last game of the season has been nothing short of incredible. The team dug itself into an early hole, climbed out, and went on a memorable run. Down 3-0 in the series against the Florida Panthers, should Edmonton pull off a historic comeback on Monday, it will go down as one of the greatest in sports history. Should they not win, the team still deserves a ton of credit.
Regardless of the outcome, this team has big questions to answer and, unfortunately, not much time to answer them. The NHL Draft is on June 28 and June 29, then free agency starts on July 1. The Oilers players will be focused solely on the game, but team executives have been strategizing and formulating a plan considering how cramped the draft and free agency are to the end of their season. Every win and each potential individual performance has the potential to change those plans, Game 7 included.
What Free Agents Earned Another Look?
The Oilers have 10 pending UFAs and many of them have been instrumental during these playoffs. Among them are Connor Brown, Corey Perry, Adam Henrique, Calvin Pickard, Vincent Desharnais, and Warren Foegele. Who do the Oilers want to bring back and how much will this playoff run have affected those decisions? Will an unexpected hero earn himself another deal tonight?
Back in 2006, Fernando Pisani had an incredible playoff. He earned a big extension after that run but the Oilers mistakenly overpaid him on the heels of an unrepeatable performance. Is the next Pisani on this roster? Maybe. Meanwhile, some players are taking the next steps in their careers and may never regress after the experience they take away from these playoffs. Who is becoming the next consistent difference-maker?
Brown has been incredible over the last two series’ but is he back? Is he the kind of player the Oilers should sign even though the start of his season wasn’t what the Oilers expected when they signed him? What about Vincent Desharnais? He has taken a big step in his NHL career this season, but should the Oilers let him walk in free agency because Philip Broberg has emerged? What is Henrique worth? Is he too old to invest in for more than one or two seasons? And, what is a reasonable cap hit? Is Perry past his prime or is his leadership worth keeping around? Perry was asked if Game 7 would be his last game. His response was, “Uh, no. I’ve got more in me. I’ve got lots more in me: five more years.”
What Happens With Ken Holland? Who Becomes GM?
Speculation is that Ken Holland is working his last game as the GM of the Oilers. His five-year contract ends when this series does. If the Oilers win, he can ride off into the sun having won another Cup. But, he may also have a desire to run it back and the Oilers may want the man who built a championship team to reconsider leaving. If the Oilers lose, how much will it eat at Holland that he got so close and didn’t accomplish his goal? The Oilers will be contenders again next season. There are plenty of reasons to stay. But, will the Oilers want to bring back the architect who was on the verge but didn’t win the big one in five seasons constructing the roster?
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If the Oilers have already chosen to go in another direction and Holland leaves, who becomes the next GM? The organization has to make big decisions days (possibly hours) out from Game 7. Who makes them?
Which Contracts Have to Go?
While trying to figure out who to re-sign, some big contracts the Oilers may not want on this roster should be addressed. Jack Campbell’s contract is one the Oilers would like to move and buying him out might be an option. But, that means dead money on the books in the same season with overage bonuses eating away at the team’s cap space.
Some fans will suggest moving Darnell Nurse and as unlikely as that seems, his $9.25 million cap hit merits considering moving on. Saying goodbye to Nurse would have consequences, so conversations with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl would need to take place before the Oilers ever seriously consider trading a key part of the team’s core.
Has Evander Kane’s health during the playoffs opened up the discussion that he might be past his expiry date? His $5.125 million contract might not be an albatross, but that money might be better spent elsewhere.
All of these contracts have conditions attached to them; there’s no way to easily move on from them.
What Gets Added to This Roster?
Inevitably, this roster will not look the same next season as it does this season. Several pieces will stay the same, but not everyone returns. Win or lose, this group deserves a lot of love as they’ve done something so few other teams have or could have done. But, pieces will be subtracted and other pieces will be added.
What options make sense for Edmonton? There’s been talk about Viktor Arvidsson. He may or may not be the solution, but the Oilers may need a top-six winger. What leadership and veteran experience should the team look to add? Do the Oilers try to land a big name or do they tinker around the edges? Keeping their options open and having flexibility may be key, but several players may make themselves available to the Oilers considering how good this team is.
If the Oilers win Game 7, the team won’t have a lot of time to enjoy the moment. If they lose, there’s little time to be disappointed. If they win, they need to figure out how to repeat. If they don’t, the Oilers need to find a way to overcome that final obstacle.
