The Edmonton Oilers were very close to bringing Lord Stanley back north to Canada this year. After pulling themselves up from a 3-0 deficit to a Game 7, the Florida Panthers took home the Cup.
Unsurprisingly, Edmonton tried to swing hard when free agency went into effect. One of their big hits included landing a high-caliber goal-scorer from the Buffalo Sabres. This was none other than Jeff Skinner, who signed for one year to a $3 million contract.
However, Edmonton was not the only Canadian team looking to sign Skinner. According to Chris Johnston, leadership with the Toronto Maple Leafs pitched the idea of playing with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.
According to reports, Skinner was initially offered more money by Toronto than Edmonton. This adds another name to the list of players who cared more about playing with McDavid than the paycheck.
With much of their lineup back for the next season and some new stars on that team, the Edmonton Oilers will likely be a major force in the next Stanley Cup playoffs. Whether it is enough to clinch the Cup next year, however, will have to remain a mystery.
POLL | ||
2 JUILLET | 763 ANSWERS Edmonton Oilers land the last decade's most underrated goal scorer Will Jeff Skinner win a Stanley Cup with the Edmonton Oilers? | ||
Yes, this season | 140 | 18.3 % |
Yes, after this season | 85 | 11.1 % |
No | 538 | 70.5 % |
List of polls |