What’s at stake for the Oilers in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final?

The Stanley Cup Final has been such a roller-coaster of emotions for the Edmonton Oilers that there’s been precious little time to contemplate what may come at its conclusion.

Who is the next general manager? Does Leon Draisaitl sign this summer? How does the team manage the cap? Does anyone remember if the club has any draft picks left?

The most sensational question of all: what if the Oilers win Game 7?

O Canada!

The last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup was 1993. That’s 30 years of misery for fans above the 49th parallel.

For many years now, Canada’s NHL teams seemed to take turns losing in the Stanley Cup Final.

In this century, the Calgary Flames (2004), Oilers (2006), Ottawa Senators (2007), Vancouver Canucks (2011) and Montreal Canadiens (2021) have all had an opportunity to end the streak.

No team could finish the job.

If the Oilers win, expect a nation-wide celebration. That was an unlikely scenario not so long ago, but this edition of the Oilers caught the imagination of fans across the country. Highlights of a win by Edmonton received roars of approval at a Toronto Blue Jays home game this week.

It’s been so long, the entire country is ready to celebrate.

The decade (plus) of darkness over

If the Oilers win the Stanley Cup, the pressure of winning during the Connor McDavid era will dissolve.

For every member of the team, it will be the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.

For Oilers fans, who have supported a generation of teams with disappointing results, a Stanley Cup victory would represent the ultimate reward for almost 20 years of hard times.

For owner Daryl Katz, winning would mean the completion of a 16-year odyssey from fan to owner to championship. His progression in the role mirrors Mike Ilitch of the Detroit Red Wings.

Similarities are obvious in a read through the book “The Road to Hockey Town” by Jim Devellano. Illitch purchased the Red Wings in 1982. The team won its first Stanley Cup under his ownership in 1997, 15 years after purchase. Katz bought the Oilers in 2008. Winning the 2024 championship would represent a 16-year gap between buying the team and winning the Stanley Cup.

The similarities between Illitch’s maturation as an owner (as detailed in the book) and that of Katz are uncanny.

The journey to this moment had much to do with Katz growing into his role as owner.

The importance of youth development

It was never breaking news over the spring, but the Oilers have been moving young players up the depth chart aggressively.

Goaltender Stuart Skinner has been an impact player in the final, despite that this is just his second full NHL season. His .909 save percentage in the final is well clear of Florida starter Sergei Bobrovsky (.889), via Natural Stat Trick.

Defenceman Philip Broberg has emerged as a difference-maker in the final. In the first six games against the Panthers, his five-on-five total minutes (84:21) rank third among Edmonton’s blueliners. He also owns a 71 percent goal share in the final (5-2 goals), which leads the team’s defenders.

Forward Dylan Holloway has scored two goals in the final and played a prominent role. He played on the wing with Leon Draisaitl at centre (Warren Foegele on the other wing) during the pivotal Game 6. The line delivered a 71 percent expected goal share, scored a goal, and Holloway drew a penalty.

Youth has been pushed in this spring’s run to the Stanley Cup. That will benefit all of these young players and the Oilers in the years to come.

Coach Kris Knoblauch isn’t a player, but he is a young and emerging coach. He too is part of the new group of impact personnel that is helping this team.

Contract challenges

The Draisaitl negotiations will be a major story all summer. It is not known whether a Stanley Cup will improve the odds of his re-signing. Logic dictates negotiations to get the big man under contract past summer 2025 may be easier with the ultimate success of a championship as the backdrop.

Evan Bouchard will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2025; getting his name on a long-term deal would also help cement the organization’s future.

The other side of these signings is the cap conundrum, and that may involve things like a buyout of Jack Campbell.

One area that could become more attractive with a Stanley Cup victory: More, and better, free agents may come knocking over the summer. Some of those free agents may be willing to sign a value contract in hopes of winning the Stanley Cup in 2025.

Holland’s legacy

Oilers general manager Ken Holland will have delivered the Stanley Cup during his five-year run in charge of the Oilers roster.

All indicators have him either retiring or moving on to another NHL destination. Holland’s age (68) may mean an NHL organization passes on the opportunity, but his appeal would increase greatly with another Stanley Cup championship being a fresh bullet point on his resume.

McDavid’s legacy

The captain would fulfill a dream and climb the only mountain remaining on the list of his breathtaking career accomplishments.

For those who question his greatness, it’s important to remember just how many hurdles McDavid has had to overcome over his NHL career.

He was drafted by an organization that (despite dozens of draft picks from 2010 to 2014) was low on actual NHL talent and then flushed much of what was available during a delirious series of transactions that will live in infamy.

Turning Jordan Eberle into Ryan Strome into Ryan Spooner; trading Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson; dealing two high picks in a brilliant draft for Griffin Reinhart were the early headliners, but there were others and those curious moves didn’t stop when Peter Chiarelli left town.

McDavid also had to deal with an expansion-happy NHL bent of providing immediate and exceptional competition in the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken. There is no precedent in league history for the stacking of the Pacific Division with exalted expansion teams beginning in 2017.

The captain also had to negotiate past the age-old hockey mantra about generational talents being “tough enough” to win. That brought injuries versus the Philadelphia Flyers and Calgary Flames.

Bottom line

No matter what happens on Monday night against the Panthers, this edition of the Oilers has proven to be special.

One doubts things will ever be the same in Edmonton.

These Oilers climbed Everest and are one win away from perhaps the greatest comeback in NHL history.

Winning Stanley is always special. Winning it this way would be remembered forever.

No team, not even the 1980s Oilers, would have delivered such a grand series of games on the way to Stanley.

(Photo of Stuart Skinner, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl: Dave Sandford / NHLI via Getty Images)