Countdown to Free Agent Frenzy: What's next for the Oilers?

With the Stanley Cup Final now complete, the NHL's off-season has arrived for all 32 teams who are preparing for the NHL Draft starting on June 27 and Free Agent Frenzy on July 1. TSN.ca keeps you up to date with all the latest rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat.

What now in Edmonton?

The Edmonton Oilers fell just short of the Stanley Cup two years in a row, losing to the Florida Panthers in Game 7 of the final last year and then Game 6 on Tuesday night. 

The Oilers enter this off-season with $11.96 million in cap space to play with, per CapFriendly, and 19 players already under contract for next season. Forwards Corey Perry, Connor Brown, Trent Frederic, Kasperi Kapanen and Jeff Skinner are all slated for unrestricted free agency, while defenceman John Klingberg is also set to hit the open market after signing with Edmonton in January. 

Atop the to-do list for the Oilers, though, is re-signing top blueliner Evan Bouchard, who is arbitration eligible as a restricted free agent, and working on an extension with superstar Connor McDavid as he become eligible to sign a new deal on July 1. 

McDavid headlines a potentially star-studded free-agent class in 2026, but he could join Leon Draisaitl ($14M AAV through 2032-33) in locking in long-term with the Oilers. He had little to say after falling just short in Florida once again on Tuesday. 

“We lost to a really good team. Nobody quit, nobody threw in the towel, but they’re a heck of a team,” McDavid said. ”Very deserving. I don’t know what else to tell you, they were really good.”

Last year's buyout of goaltender Jack Campbell leaves a $2.3 million charge on the team's books for next season and the Oilers are without first- and second-round picks this year as well as their 2026 first-round pick as a result of previous trades.

How about the Panthers?

After successfully repeating as champions, the Panthers face plenty of roster questions in their quest for a three-peat next season. 

Working in their favour is $19 million in cap space which could soon be put to use as the team races the clock with Conn Smythe winner Sam Bennett, trade-deadline pickup Brad Marchand and long-time Panther Aaron Ekblad headlining their list of pending unrestricted free agents ahead of July 1. 

Still basking in the joy of a Stanley Cup repeat, Panthers general manager Bill Zito said he believes the team can re-sign all three players. 

Forwards Tomas Nosek and Nico Sturm along with defencemen Nate Schmidt, Jaycob Megna and backup netminder Vitek Vanecek are also slated for unrestricted free agency. Winger Mackie Samoskevich is the team's lone restricted free agent on their NHL roster. 

Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky will become eligible to sign a new deal on July 1 as he enters the final year of his current contract, which carries a cap hit of $10 million.

Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell, Seth Jones and Gustav Forsling are all under contract through at least 2029-30.

Zibanejad staying in New York?

With the New York Rangers having moved on from veterans Jacob Trouba and Chris Kreider in the past seven months, the rumour mill has been abuzz with talk that centre Mika Zibanejad could be the next to go.

Zibanejad's wife, Ima, is setting the record straight, though. She told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that new Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan recently came to Europe to meet with Zibanejad on his plans for next season. 

“We just had Mika’s new coach [Mike Sullivan] here at our home; he flew over from New York recently,” Ima Zibanejad said, as translated by the New York Post. “We also just got our new home in New York. I’m always shocked about how newspapers just spread things without considering the source.” 

Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported last week that Rangers general manager Chris Drury was in communication with Zibanejad and other key veterans before trading Kreider to the Anaheim Ducks last week. 

Currently the longest-tenured Ranger, Zibanejad remains under contract through 2029-30 at a cap hit of $8.5 million. His deal includes a full no-move clause. 

The 32-year-old centre posted 20 goals and 62 points in 82 games this season and is two years removed from scoring 39 goals in 2022-23, the second-highest total of his career.