Connor McDavid was hunched over on the bench.
The Edmonton Oilers superstar captain had given everything in his team's quest to hoist the Stanley Cup.
A record-setting playoff performance. A first Conn Smythe Trophy as post-season MVP. And in that moment, the gut-wrenching realization it still wasn't enough as the Florida Panthers celebrated their Game 7 victory.
That bitter disappointment lingers. It may never completely wash away.
"There hasn't been a ton of sitting back and reflecting," said McDavid, still in search of an elusive first title entering his 10th NHL season. "I'm not sure it's something that you ever get over."
The three-time MVP and the rest of the league are primed to start the climb anew.
The NHL's North American schedule opens Tuesday after a couple of games in Europe last week set the table for 2024-25.
The Panthers are aiming to repeat. The Oilers are hungry to get back.
The NHL, meanwhile, is coming off a record-setting campaign in terms of both attendance and revenue. McDavid and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov became just the fourth and fifth players in history with 100 assists last season. Toronto Maple Leafs centre Auston Matthews scored 69 goals — the most in more than three decades.
McDavid's 42 playoff points were the most in a single post-season by a player not named Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux. He also set a record with 34 assists on the way to winning the Conn Smythe.
So what does the league do for an encore?
"We're all in the same boat in terms of wanting the game to become bigger and more popular," Oilers centre Leon Draisaitl said. "It's on all of us to do that together and keep pushing it forward where it gets to a point where you're like, 'Wow, this is a worldwide, popular sport.'"
The Great One thinks there will be plenty of intriguing storylines.
"There's 20 teams that have a right (to believe they can) win a championship," said Gretzky, now a television analyst with TNT in the U.S. "That's what's great for our game."
The Oilers will hope to do what the Panthers did in June — win the Cup after losing the previous year. Florida fell to the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2023 final.
"There's just little learning lessons that they probably applied," said Draisaitl, the Robin to McDavid's Batman in Edmonton, and the owner of a new eight-year contract. "We're looking to do the same."
The Panthers, meanwhile, have turned the page.
"You put all that work in," said winger Sam Reinhart, second to Matthews last season with 57 goals. "I don't think it's something you're ever going to forget or not think about, but pretty quick after you flip the switch.
"And try and do it all over again."
Draisaitl said what little downtime he had this summer was put to good use after the final's bitterly disappointing end on June 24.
"We played a lot of hockey," he said. "But it's funny how it works sometimes because we're all itching to start back up again ... chip away at what we all want as an organization."
Gretzky, who raised hockey's holy grail four times with the Oilers in the 1980s, believes his old team will be right back in the conversation.
"It's harder to win today," he said. "But it's not a full career unless you win a championship.
"The Oilers are really close ... when you've got the best player in hockey (McDavid), you always have a chance."
The star attraction in a new series from Amazon's Prime Video detailing last season's marathon, McDavid is in the starting blocks.
"I'm just focused on being the best that I can be," he said. "That's all there really is to it."
OVIE'S QUEST
Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is within striking distance of a mark once thought untouchable — Gretzky's all-time NHL goal record.
The Great 8 is just 41 goals back of the No. 99's regular-season career total of 894.
Ovechkin, 39, has averaged exactly 41 goals over his last three seasons.
SWAYMAN'S STANDOFF ENDS
The Boston Bruins and goaltender Jeremy Swayman finally came to terms on a new contract after a stalemate that ended Sunday.
The 25-year-old signed a US$66-million deal for the next eight seasons in the ultracompetitive Atlantic Division.
BEDARD'S SECOND ACT
Chicago Blackhawks centre Connor Bedard lived up to the hype in his rookie campaign with 22 goals and 61 points in 68 games as an 18-year-old despite missing significant time with a broken jaw.
Dubbed hockey's next superstar, Bedard is eager to get his name up alongside the league's big stars.
"I'm very confident in myself and my abilities," said the reigning Calder Trophy winner. "I'd rather show it than talk about it, for sure, but I was thinking that going into this summer this is a big year for me to take a next step."
INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY BACK
The NHL 4 Nations Face-Off tournament featuring Canada, the U.S., Sweden and Finland is set for February.
The event is the league's first foray into international hockey since the 2016 World Cup, and is a table-setter for its Olympic return in 2026.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2024.
With files from Canadian Press reporter John Chidley-Hill. Follow @JClipperton_CP on X.
Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
