Interesting off-season ahead for Edmonton Oilers after Stanley Cup final loss to Florida Panthers

The Edmonton Oilers could see the Florida Panthers celebrating on the ice and hear them down the hallway.

Florida won its first Stanley Cup late Monday night, besting Edmonton 2-1 in Game 7 after blowing a 3-0 lead in the title series.

The Panthers will spend the summer sipping from hockey’s holy grail. The Oilers, meanwhile, have plenty of questions about the future.

It no doubt will be a fascinating off-season in the Alberta capital.

Top of the list is the future of star centre Leon Draisaitl.

The big German, who has one year left on his current contract that carries an average annual value of US$8.5 million, is eligible to sign an extension as of July 1.

Will he immediately put pen to paper, negotiate a new deal throughout the summer or inform the team he plans to move on?

If it’s the third option — Matthew Tkachuk did the same with the Calgary Flames two summers ago before getting shipped to Florida — do the Oilers let him play out his contract in hopes of another long playoff run next spring and risk losing Draisaitl for nothing? Or does Edmonton make a trade?

In the job since May 2019, Edmonton general manager Ken Holland appears to be headed out the door after five seasons in charge.

Who does Oilers CEO Jeff Jackson, the former agent for superstar captain Connor McDavid, choose as the veteran executive’s replacement?