Current:Home > MarketsCan Panthers, Oilers keep their teams together? Plenty of contracts are expiring. -Profound Wealth Insights
Can Panthers, Oilers keep their teams together? Plenty of contracts are expiring.
View
Date:2025-04-18 05:24:17
The Florida Panthers have won their first NHL championship in their third trip to the Stanley Cup Final.
The Edmonton Oilers hope the future is bright after reaching the championship round for the first time in the Connor McDavid era and pushing back from a 3-0 deficit to force Game 7.
Can they keep their teams together?
The recent champion Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche showed that's more difficult in the salary cap era. But this year's finalists will benefit from the salary cap rising from $83.5 million to $88 million.
Here are the decisions that await the Panthers and Oilers:
What's next for the Florida Panthers?
The big offseason questions will be unrestricted free agent forward Sam Reinhart and defenseman Brandon Montour.
Reinhart, 28, had a career year with 57 goals, had 10 more in the playoffs and works well with Aleksander Barkov. He's due a big raise from this season's $6.5 million but might need to take a slight hometown discount.
Montour, 30, had 73 points in 2022-23 but dropped to 33 after offseason shoulder surgery. He's a coveted right-shot defenseman, but Gustav Forsling appears to have supplanted him as the top blue liner and just got an extension.
Other pending unrestricted free agent defensemen are offseason signees Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Dmitry Kulikov. Aaron Ekblad is entering the final year of his contract.
Among the forwards, trade deadline acquisition Vladimir Tarasenko is on a one-year deal. He has a Florida home and has been a good fit on the third line. Kyle Okposo, also acquired at the deadline, won his first Cup at 36. There are other bottom six forwards on the UFA list.
Anton Lundell is a restricted free agent, and Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe have one year left.
Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky had two more years on his contract. Backup goalie Anthony Stolarz is unrestricted. Spencer Knight, who didn't play in the NHL this season, is in the system.
What's next for the Edmonton Oilers?
No. 2 scorer Leon Draisaitl is heading into his final season and is eligible for an extension. Connor McDavid has two years left on his deal and forwards Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evander Kane are signed beyond next season.
Defenseman Evan Bouchard, who has emerged as the Oilers' top defenseman, is eligible for an extension. He'll be a restricted free agent at the end of next season. Philip Broberg, who took big strides in the playoffs, is restricted.
The Oilers have a long list of UFAs. including their impressive third line of Mattias Janmark, Connor Brown and Adam Henrique. Warren Foegele, who had a four-game point streak in the final, is unrestricted, and Dylan Holloway is restricted.
Goalie Stuart Skinner has two years left on his deal at an inexpensive $2.6 million cap hit. The Oilers need to make a decision on veteran goalie Jack Campbell, who spent most of the season in the American Hockey League. Calvin Pickard is unrestricted.
veryGood! (66)
Related
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- Fossil fuel rules catch Western towns between old economies and new green goals
- First Floods, Now Fires: How Neglect and Fraud Hobbled an Alabama Town
- Ohio football coach whose team called ‘Nazi’ during game says he was forced to resign, no ill intent
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- 1 wounded in shooting at protest over New Mexico statue of Spanish conquistador
- *NSYNC Will Have You Dancing Into the Weekend With Full Version of Song Better Place
- Lebanese Armenians scuffle with riot police during protest outside Azerbaijan Embassy
- Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
- 3 arrested, including 2 minors, after ghost guns found in New York City day care
Ranking
- Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
- Louisiana citrus farmers are seeing a mass influx of salt water that could threaten seedlings
- Seattle police officer heard joking about woman's death reassigned to 'non-operational position'
- Report: High-risk problem gambling fell slightly in New Jersey even as sports betting took off
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- New York City braces for major flooding as heavy rain inundates region
- UAW once again expands its historic strike, hitting two of the Big 3 automakers
- Pregnant Jessie James Decker and Eric Decker Share How Their Kids Reacted to Baby No. 4
Recommendation
Costco membership growth 'robust,' even amid fee increase: What to know about earnings release
Sweating cools us down, but does it burn calories?
Las Vegas stadium proponents counter attempt to repeal public funding for potential MLB ballpark
25 years on, a look back at one of the most iconic photographs in hip-hop history
California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel
Kaitlyn Bristowe Suffers Panic Attack and Misses People's Choice Country Awards Red Carpet
Biden honors John McCain in Arizona, highlighting battle for the soul of America
Could scientists resurrect the extinct Tasmanian tiger? New breakthrough raises hopes