Oilers' $112,000,000 forward has a hidden message for Edmonton brass after yet another dismal Stanley Cup Final loss

The Edmonton Oilers suffered another disappointing loss in the Stanley Cup Final, falling 5-1 to the Florida Panthers in Game 6. For the second straight year, the Oilers' Stanley Cup dreams were crushed by the Panthers in the Final, repeating their 2024 heartbreak.

During Thursday’s end-of-season media availability, star forward Leon Draisaitl seemed to send a subtle message to Edmonton’s front office. Draisaitl, who has an eight-year, $112 million contract with the Oilers, said:

"Our core is probably in the prime right now in terms of maturity and experiences and all those things. So we're an older team. Do we need to get a little bit younger? A little bit faster? Maybe," Draisaitl said (from 5:00) "But I think our core group is at an age where we got a lot of juice left, so hopefully we can continue to kick away at it."

Draisaitl seems to be subtly telling the front office not to blow up the core and start over but rather to supplement the current roster with some speed and youth.

He led the league with 52 goals in 71 games, posting a career-best +32 plus/minus rating. Draisaitl continued that dominance in the playoffs, tallying 33 points (11 goals) in 22 games, but the Oilers failed to clear the final hurdle once again.

---

Oilers Leon Draisaitl "disappointing" losing Stanley Cup Final second time in a row

Leon Draisaitl didn’t hide his disappointment after another heartbreaking loss in the Stanley Cup Final. Coming up empty two years in a row despite being within reach of the championship has taken an emotional toll.

“I think that we probably just made it a little bit too easy for them especially the last couple games you know there there's a couple mistakes that we made that we didn't get from them, you know, it was never that that easy so, yeah, something to learn for sure," Draisaitl said.

Draisaitl believes the Edmonton Oilers made it too easy for the Florida Panthers, especially in the last couple games - a 5-2 Game 5 loss and 5-1 Game 6 defeat - of the series.

The loss is difficult for Draisaitl and the Oilers, but he's taking it as a learning experience to build on for next season.

Wayne Gretzky’s wife Janet responds to critics questioning his loyalty to Canada, Bobby Orr's support following 4 Nations drama

Edited by Bhargav