In what was a cruel twist of irony, the Edmonton Oilers were defeated for the 2nd year in a row by the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final.
It once again brought their dreams of raising the Stanley Cup for what would have been the 1st time since 1990 to a crashing halt.
Understandably, Oilers fans are beginning to grow concerned about the future of Connor McDavid with the team, especially after he didn't exactly sound like he urgently wanted to get a contract extension done.
He's eligible to become a UFA on July 1 of next year, but is now able to sign an extension with the club now.
Per TSN's Ryan Rishaug, he is anticipating a potential McDavid extension to be agreed to in late July or early August, and it may only be a shorter-term deal at 4 years.
Ryan Rishaug: Late July, early August wouldn't surprise me [for the timing of the McDavid extension]; I'd think 4 years - TSN
So far at the onset of the NHL's free agency period, the Oilers haven't been overly active in terms of signings.
They've lost veteran Corey Perry to the Los Angeles Kings, while trading Viktor Arvidsson to the Boston Bruins and Evander Kane to the Vancouver Canucks. Additionally, Connor Brown signed with the New Jersey Devils.
They also haven't made any kind of move with their goaltending.
Oilers GM Stan Bowman recently said he's ready to begin negotiations at any time.
We're very eager to do that whenever they're ready. I think Connor has earned the right to choose when he wants to get into the details of it and we're ready right now, he knows that. He's right that July 1 is a date where we can officially sign him to a contract, but besides that, it's just another date and it doesn't really change the process at all.
