Redemption arcs power Oilers' Cup return

EDMONTON - Second chances don't come easy. But they came often for the Oilers this year. From Stan Bowman's controversial return to a roster full of players battling back from injuries, doubts, and mistakes, they're a team built on the messy business of trying again. They're back in the Stanley Cup Final because of it.

For the second straight year, the Oilers face the Florida Panthers with hockey's top prize on the line - this time chasing more than a title. After last year's heartbreaking Game 7 loss to Florida, they return with redemption on their minds.

"I was watching from afar last year," said Bowman to kick off his pre-finals press conference. Now he's at the center of it. Hired in the offseason, Bowman's return to the NHL after resigning in the wake of the Chicago Blackhawks' sexual assault scandal was one of the year's most polarizing moves. But he's helped steer the Oilers back to the final - building around a group of players who, like him, are trying to rewrite the narrative.

Across the lineup, the Oilers are full of players who came to Edmonton trying to reclaim something - health, reputation, confidence, or just the version of themselves they believe is still in there.

"I'm quite my old self. A little bit older now, too," said John Klingberg, who has struggled for three years to recover from bilateral hip resurfacing surgery. Five years ago, Klingberg was a star for Dallas when it lost the Cup Final to Tampa Bay in the COVID bubble. But in the intervening years, his play declined. It looked like he might be past his prime. He was shuffled from Dallas to Anaheim and then Toronto before finally ending up in Edmonton, where he seems to have found his groove again.

"It's a process. It's never going to be fully perfect, but I feel like it's the best I've moved in a long time," he said. While he acknowledged the first step of that process is his body feeling better, he said the second half of it is the locker room in Edmonton. "It's how the team has been preparing and just picking me up, letting me know I'm a big part of this team, finding a role and exceeding in it," he said.

Not every comeback starts with an injury. Some begin with owning what went wrong.

Corey Perry joined the Oilers in January 2024, just weeks after being released by the Chicago Blackhawks for what the team called "unacceptable conduct." The veteran forward didn't offer specifics when he addressed the situation publicly, but said he was seeking help for struggles with alcohol and taking steps to move forward. In Edmonton, he's found a way to contribute again - on the ice, and inside a room full of players familiar with fresh starts.

"As soon as I got here, everybody was open arms and excited that I was coming. The situation that happened, it happened. I've dealt with it. I've learned from it. It was unfortunate, but it's something I went through," Perry said. "Being here, it's been exciting. The fans, the players, the training staff, everybody's been pretty open."

Like Perry, Evander Kane knows what it's like to go into a room with questions attached. Kane joined the Oilers in 2022 after the San Jose Sharks terminated his contract for violating COVID-19 protocols. Off the ice, Kane was facing a string of personal issues, including a public bankruptcy filing and legal disputes with his ex-wife. He landed in Edmonton looking for a fresh start and has since become a key piece of the team's core.

While some athletes might avoid Edmonton because of the scrutiny of the Oilers in an intense media environment, the passion is part of what drew Kane to the city.

"The importance of hockey in a city like Edmonton is something that went into my decision in wanting to come here," Kane said. "Something seemed to just click right away. The city embraced me, the fans embraced me. As a player, when you feel that, you want to try to perform at your best and give that back to them and show that love back. For me, we got off on a great foot, and it's just been a great ride so far."

While Kane brought baggage, Jeff Skinner just brought questions. After 14 NHL seasons without a playoff appearance, Skinner signed with the Oilers in July 2024, weeks after the Buffalo Sabres bought out the final three years of his $72-million contract. The move left Buffalo with six years of dead cap space, but it gave Skinner a shot at a fresh start - and his long-awaited postseason debut, which came after 1,078 regular-season games. While Skinner received limited minutes throughout the regular season and at the start of the playoffs, he stepped in during the Western Conference Final against Dallas when Zach Hyman went down with a shoulder injury.

Skinner came up big, with his first playoff goal in a 6-3 win over the Stars. "I'm pretty grateful," said Skinner. "It's hard to get to this point. You have to be on a great team, and even if you’re on a great team, sometimes they don't make it this far. To be able to get here is a good feeling."

The total team effort it takes to make it to the final makes Skinner feel like he belongs. "I think people have talked about our depth scoring. Almost everyone's scored a goal. I think just having confidence in yourself and also in each other. You need that in the playoffs. It's not always going to be the same guy stepping up and making a play in the big moment. Any team that gets this far, you need guys to make plays and the more guys you have that are capable of that and have the ability, the better," he said. "For us, it's about leaning on each other in that way."

Not everyone will agree on who deserves a second chance - or what it should look like. But the Oilers have become a team built on them. And for all the baggage and backstories, they've also become one of the most exciting teams in hockey. At the center of it all is Connor McDavid - still chasing his own redemption arc after last year's narrow miss.

"My favorite text I got, from a former pro athlete, was: 'Hey, is No. 97 a Monstar?'" said former Oiler and current TNT analyst Anson Carter, referencing the "Space Jam" aliens who stole NBA players' talent. "You don’t have to be a big hockey fan to know that he's special. He's different."

"There are heroes and there are villains. That's part of playoff hockey. That's part of rivalry. It's a big part of the fabric of our game," said Eddie Olczyk, who hosts the NHL on TNT broadcast. "If people want to be entertained, there's not going to be any better reality TV than (the finals)."

For many of the Oilers, the personal comeback journeys mirror the team's quest for redemption. Few players know the pain of coming up short better than Perry, who's reached the final five times in the last six seasons without a win.

"It gets tougher each and every summer," he said. "But at the same time, it puts that fire inside you and keeps it burning. You have that opportunity again this year to rewrite that script. That's what we're trying to do."

Jolene Latimer is a feature writer for theScore.