The NHL’s 32 teams are all at different points in their competitive cycles – and that includes the final four teams still playing in the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.
But of the four teams – the Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers and New York Rangers – which ones are facing the highest stakes?
Let’s look at them in order of the teams with the most to lose to the teams that are best set up for success in the near future.
Highest Stakes
Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers have most of their core of elite talent – most notably, star forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl – signed through the 2024-25 campaign.
But as it currently stands, Edmonton has just $9.7 million in salary cap space, and they’ve got nine forwards and three defensemen who are either UFAs or RFAs this summer.
The Oilers could begin contract extension negotiations with Draisaitl this summer, as he has just one year left on his current contract. But if Edmonton can’t get past Dallas in the Western Conference final, will GM Ken Holland – or someone else charged with running the team if Holland moves on – change over the Oilers’ supporting cast behind McDavid and Draisaitl? We’d harbor a guess that Edmonton will look different next season.
NEW: Kris Knoblauch Quietly Calls Out Darnell Nurse#LetsGoOilers
https://t.co/cGPBpgx7Rd— Caleb Kerney (@CKerneyWriter) May 28, 2024
They’ve still got time to beat the Stars and provide reason to keep the bigger group together next season, but another exit in the Western final will more than likely trigger major moves to help McDavid and Draisaitl thrive in ‘24-25.
We can’t imagine Draisaitl going anywhere, but the cost of doing business is going to get exponentially tougher for Edmonton next season.
Florida Panthers
Like Edmonton, the Panthers also have most of their core locked up through next season. But Florida’s $20.8 million in cap space for 2024-25 is going to evaporate quickly given that seven of their forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender are UFAs this summer.
That list is headed by forwards Sam Reinhart, Vladimir Tarasenko, Nick Cousins and Kyle Okposo, as well as blueliners Brandon Montour, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and goalie Anthony Stolarz.
You can see, then, why the Panthers should be motivated to win a Cup this year. Depth will be a bigger issue for them next season, and even if they can find a way to retain, say, Reinhart and Montour, there’s going to be little cap space left over to fill out the roster.
Florida came up with a spectacular effort during the final 41:12 of Game 4, earning a crucial overtime victory and sending the series back to New York tied at two games apiece.#TimeToHunt Game 4 takeaways @TheHockeyNews ⬇️ https://t.co/428YubDGF6
— David Dwork (@DavidDwork) May 29, 2024
Stars Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov and Sergei Bobrovsky are locked up for the long term, but a top team needs more talent than that, which is why Florida should be striking now while the iron is hottest for them.
We’re not saying the Panthers will be a non-playoff team next season, but we are saying this current Cup opportunity could prove to be their best shot for many years to come.
Lowest Stakes
Dallas Stars
The brilliance of Stars GM Jim Nill is evident in the fact that Dallas has a near-perfect balance of older star players – Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Joe Pavelski, Matt Duchene and Ryan Suter – and more-than-capable youngsters in Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, Wyatt Johnston, Miro Heiskanen and Jake Oettinger.
The Stars have $15.9 million in cap space, and that money will go toward UFAs Pavelski and Duchene, as well as RFA blueliner Thomas Harley and a backup goaltender, which is either current backup and looming UFA Scott Wedgewood, or someone else.
The #DallasStars have made themselves at home on the road this post-season, going 6-1 away from American Airlines Center. My preview of tonight's Game 4 in Edmonton against #LetsGoOilers on @TheHockeyNews. #TexasHockeyhttps://t.co/S203x1cwgBhttps://t.co/S203x1cwgB
— Stephen Kerr (@smkwriter1) May 29, 2024
Nill has done so well on the drafting and development front, the Stars are set up to be a Cup front-runner again next season and the seasons immediately beyond that.
There’s a reason why Nill won the GM-of-the-year award last season – he’s mastered the difficult balancing act of competing in the moment and building a long-term winner – and he deserves the lion’s share of the credit for Dallas’ success this year.
There’s no sense this team could take a backward or lateral step next season, and most observers suspect the Stars will continue to flourish until further notice.
New York Rangers
Rangers GM Chris Drury has been running things in Manhattan since May 2021, so you have to give some credit to his predecessor, Jeff Gorton, for the excellent state of the Blueshirts today.
But Drury has done extremely well in his three years in charge in New York City, as the Rangers now have virtually every key component signed through next season.
The only UFAs they’ve got are trade deadline acquisitions Jack Roslovic, Alexander Wennberg and veterans Blake Wheeler and Erik Gustafsson, and RFAs Kaapo Kakko, Braden Schneider and Ryan Lindgren. And their $12.1 million in cap space will allow them to bring back at least a few of those players on short-term deals that will once again give them one of the deepest lineups in the league.
Here are my thoughts on the Rangers’ Game 4 loss.https://t.co/EF0HDhMjfahttps://t.co/EF0HDhMjfa
— Remy Mastey (@MasteyRemy) May 29, 2024
As is the case with every team, there will come a day of reckoning for the Rangers on the cap front. In this case, that day will come at this time next spring, when key contributors Alexis Lafreniere (RFA), Igor Shesterkin (UFA) and K’Andre Miller (RFA) will be in need of new contracts. But if the cap ceiling rises once again next summer, the Blueshirts should be able to retain all three of those key components and remain a Cup front-runner for the long haul.
They have every intention of winning this year’s Cup, but the mastery with which their lineup has been constructed will keep them among the league’s very best teams for the foreseeable future.
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News Summary:
- Cup or Bust? What's at Stake for the Oilers, Rangers, Stars and Panthers
- Check all news and articles from the latest NHL updates.