In the latest edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas dive into the Edmonton Oilers’ Game 4 win, putting them one victory away from a return to the Stanley Cup Final. They also dive into the Carolina Hurricanes breaking their 15-game Eastern Conference Final losing streak by staving off elimination against the Florida Panthers. The Final Thought congratulates the Minnesota Frost for clinching the PWHL title in back-to-back seasons.
The Florida Panthers are one win away from returning to the Stanley Cup Final for the third year in a row, but the Carolina Hurricanes are still putting up a fight. The Edmonton Oilers are two wins away from getting back to the final for the second year in a row, but if the Dallas Stars can awaken their goal scorers this series could yet stretch out into next week.
Meantime, four other teams are still licking their wounds and wondering what could have been if things broke just a little differently in Round 2. The Vegas Golden Knights surely have designs on returning a Cup contender in 2025-26, but after being eliminated in Round 1 and 2 the past two seasons, are we sure they’re still in the top tier of teams? The Winnipeg Jets are similar, and have struggled to get past the other Central Division contenders. The Washington Capitals were a hugely surprising regular season success and will look to create momentum to ensure this is just the start, while the Toronto Maple Leafs are facing some sort of ending to an era after a seven-game loss to the defending champions.
So as the four teams left standing fight it out to win the top prize, we look back again at the four teams that were ejected from the playoffs in Round 2 and the big question facing each of them this summer.
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Vegas: What will Jack Eichel‘s extension end up at?
We’ve learned to expect unconventional team building routes for the Golden Knights and after a five-game ousting by the Edmonton Oilers, we should have our heads up for how Vegas will react to another earlier-than-planned off-season.
Is it signing Mitch Marner, Nikolaj Ehlers or Brock Boeser off the UFA pile to address a relative weakness on the wing? Is it making another bold trade to shake up their mix and acquire someone else who could help put them over the top?
Well, it may not be so easy anymore. Vegas has used up nearly all of its futures to get to where they are now and don’t have another first-round pick until 2027. They have $9.615 million in cap space (the eighth-least amount of space in the NHL) with five UFAs and four RFAs on their roster, not all of whom will return. Those who don’t will need to be replaced somehow. Some in and around the market are wondering if the window is beginning to close — not because the team is looking like it’ll fall off a cliff next season, but because the avenues towards improvement are more narrow than ever.
If Vegas did want to explore changing its core, that will not be easy to do. Ten players have some sort of trade protection in their contract, six of which are either full no-move or no-trade clauses.
“We’re going to do everything we can to make our team better in the next six to seven weeks,” Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon said at his year-end press conference.