Well, the NHL season has finally concluded. And just in a near-exact same scenario from last season, the Florida Panthers have won the Stanley Cup, defeating the Edmonton Oilers, yet again.

The Panthers bested the Oilers for the second time in as many years to retain their crown as Stanley Cup Champs. Except this time, they managed to finish them off in one fewer game.

This series started much closer than the previous year. The two teams alternated overtime wins to start the series, but got blown out in Game 3. In a familiar position to the previous finals, Edmonton bounced back after falling down 3-0 in the first period and eventually won it in overtime, with Leon Draisaitl scoring his second overtime goal of the series.

But after Game 4, the Panthers completely took over.

Florida dominated Game 5 in Edmonton and carried that momentum into Game 6 back at home, where they walked away with a 5-1 victory.

A familiar face in North Vancouver’s own Sam Reinhart scored four of the five goals, the same player who scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal in Game 7 of last year’s series. But the biggest difference – and their eventual downfall – from this season to last was how the Oilers started each game.

The Panthers scored at least two goals in all six of the first periods in this series. Now, the Oilers are comfortable playing from behind, but having that happen in every game was just too big of a hill to climb out of, especially in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Two of the top offensive talents in the entire league play in Edmonton. But where were they when the team needed them the most?

In Games 5 and 6, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl combined for one goal and one assist with a minus-11 rating and six shots on goal.

But this wasn’t much different from last season.

In the final two games of last season’s run, McDavid and Draisaitl combined for one assist, a plus-1 rating and five shots on goal.

When the going has gotten tough for two of the top NHL talents, they’ve come up dry.

Now to put our Canucks glasses on…what does this mean for how they will look next season?

They’ve gotten this far in back-to-back seasons, but have fallen short. And by no means are the Panthers an easy team to play against, but they are going to need to make a change somewhere.

The biggest problem with this team has been their goaltending. Year in and year out, they continue to roll with Stuart Skinner as their starter, and he’s never shown an ability to be a consistent netminder, nor do the Oilers play that confidently in front of him.

Edmonton’s main focus this offseason should finally be to address their crease, and that’s where the Canucks come in.

Vancouver has a decision to make regarding their goaltending, as they’ll likely lose Arturs Silovs if he’s sent down during training camp after the postseason run he’s having with the Abbotsford Canucks.

It’s always like you’re doing a deal with the devil when you make a trade within your division because you don’t want to see that player up to four times in the regular season, and potentially in the playoffs, with him being the sole reason you lose games.

Now, if you’re trading from a position of power and can make your group better, teams should always consider everything. However, it would be a scary move for the Canucks to give the Oilers the missing piece they need to get over the hump.

According to Josh Yohe of The Athletic, sources within the organization informed him that the Penguins are not expected to offer Malkin another contract with the organization.

Malkin has spent his entire 19-year NHL career with the Penguins organization, accumulating 514 goals and 1,346 points in 1,213 regular season games. The second overall pick in 2004 has added 67 goals and 180 points in 177 postseason games, en route to three Stanley Cups (2009, 2016 and 2017), including the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2009.

The Russian Centreman took home the Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP in 2009, as well as two Art Ross Trophies (2009 and 2012). His resume speaks for itself, and once he does retire, he will undoubtedly have his number retired with the organization and find himself as a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

However, it appears that this will be his last year in Pittsburgh.

The Penguins appear to be the only team selling players, on their way to a rebuild with such an aging roster.

Now, at 39 years old, Malkin might not have much of a longer shelf life in the NHL. Yohe also mentions Malkin’s desire not to play for another organization. There is always a possibility he plays out the end of his contract and moves back to play in his home country in the KHL to finish his career.

Looking at it from a Canucks perspective, they are currently looking for a second line centre. And despite the good trading relationship between Vancouver and Pittsburgh, as well as all the ties this Canucks management regime has with the Penguins organization, Malkin wearing the blue and green sweater seems like a non-starter.

Even if the Penguins’ desire is to trade him, Malkin has a full no-movement clause for the final year of his deal, and would have to sign off on any trade. So, if he does want to take one last kick at the can for a Stanley Cup run, he would likely only waive to a team he thinks can compete. Which probably takes Vancouver out of the running to land Malkin.