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Besieged Canadians are fighting back with their weapons of choice: skates, sticks and pucks.
While Americans might see the Edmonton Oilers-Florida Panthers Stanley Cup final as a clash of two highly skilled, pan-national clubs, many Canadians view this series as nothing short of a battle for the Great White North's national sovereignty.
A Canadian-based NHL club hasn't hoisted Lord Stanley‘s famed chalice since 1993. And that drought has morphed from a tongue-in-cheek taunt of Canada's hockey prowess into serious conversations about Canadian national identity, as U.S. President Donald Trump openly talks about annexing America's next-door neighbor.
"This had been a joke, but now you feel a difference this year (with the Stanley Cup), especially with the threats against Canadian sovereign and the general political climate," said Andre Costopoulos, anthropology department chair at the University of Alberta. "You can hear it in people's conversations, on the street, in the office, that it sounds more urgent."
Game 1 of the best-of-7 series begins Wednesday in Edmonton when the defending-champion Florida Panthers visit for an 8 p.m. EDT start.
A possible Game 7 would be June 20 in Edmonton. Eight of the 24 finals this century have gone the distance.
All games will be carried, in the Untied States, on TNT and truTV and streamed on Max.
A Canadian team hasn't won the Stanley Cup since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens.
Edmonton is a -125/+105 series favorite over Florida in Las Vegas.
Since summer 1994, North America’s most revered trophy has made its metaphoric, rented home below the 49th parallel in a streak that has united Canada against the red, white and blue.
"I acknowledge this lot of frustration from Canadians about the approach of the United States, the new administration, toward our economy, toward our sovereignty and general attitude toward Canada," Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi told NBC News on Tuesday. "Absolutely there's a large number of people (Canadians) who are frustrated by that."
But ever the politician, Sohi opted for the more upbeat spin and held hope the upcoming Oilers-Panthers series can show Canadians and Americans they have much more in common than not.
"I see this is an opportunity, in a way, [to] rally behind our two teams, and here, in our case the Oilers, and turn this into competitive, but also friendly match in a way that that gives us the opportunity to showcase the best of our country," said the mayor of 1 million Edmontonians in a city a touch larger than San Jose and hair smaller than Dallas.
Despite the Stanley Cup drought, there's still little debate that hockey is Canada's sport, at least in plurality.
Of the 920 skaters who laced it up for NHL clubs in 2024-25, 382 were born in Canada (41.5%) compared to 290 forwards and defensemen from the United States (31.5%).
Of the 103 men between the pipes this season, 31 were born in Canada (30%) and 21 were from America (20.3%).
And it's likely no Canadian hockey fans had any memories of the Stanley Cup drought this past Feb. 20, when Edmonton's Connor McDavid's overtime score gave Canada a 3-2 win over the United States in the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off, reaffirming the Great White North's frozen pond superiority.
"You can feel it, definitely. There's a need for affirmation and the need for affirmation of sovereignty, not just for sports," Costopoulos said. "It's broader than that."
The mockery of Canada having not brought home a Stanley Cup might not be statistically fair. Of the NHL's 32 teams, only seven are based in Canada.
So with all factors being equal, there's just a 21.875% chance in any given year that either the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs or Montreal Canadiens will hoist the Stanley Cup.
Still, the drought has certainly been grating on Canadian fans with titles being won in Sun Belt locales such as Las Vegas, Anaheim, Tampa, Raleigh and Sunrise, Florida.
There was a time when the NHL's move to warm weather America was considered a foolish act.
"There was sort of a general feeling of, 'Is this going to work? Does anyone in South Florida really care about hockey?'" said Kimberly Taylor, a professor of marketing at Florida International University.
The success of hockey in South Florida, where it hasn't snowed since 1977, could be attributed to the central locale of the Panthers' arena, the region's transitory population, hockey's appeal to modern sports fans with shorter attention spans and, most of all, the team's recent winning, the FIU professor said.
"The puck is always moving, even if it's not super high scoring. People are taking shots on goal," she said. "The nonstop action really does appeal to a lot of people (no matter their hockey background)."
The NHL has been moving toward sunshine for more than three decades. The Lightning (established in 1992), Panthers (1993), Nashville Predators (1998) and Vegas Golden Knights (2017) were added to the league down south, and the Hartford Whalers turned into the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997.
"McDonald's is more real estate than they are fast food, right?" University of Miami sports science professor Tywan Martin said. "The property is more valuable than the store. The same applies in sports. The NHL is proof you can go into nontraditional territories."
Since Montreal won it all in 1993, seven Canadian teams have made it to the Stanley Cup final only to lose to a U.S.-based club, often in a heartbreaking Game 7.
The New York Rangers finally quieted the "1940!" chant by hoisting the Stanley Cup following a Game 7 win over the Vancouver Canucks in 1994.
It took seven games for the Tampa Bay Lightning extinguish the Calgary Flames in 2004.
The Carolina Hurricanes needed a Game 7 to blow away Edmonton in 2006.
The Anaheim Ducks flew south for the winter with Lord Stanley's cup after five games against the Ottawa Senators in 2007.
The Boston Bruins needed all seven games to knock out Vancouver in 2011.
The Tampa Bay Lightning zapped Montreal in five games in 2021.
And last year, Florida emptied the tank in a thrilling seven-game triumph over Edmonton. The Panthers took Game 7 in Florida.
It's been so, so close, eh?
"Obviously I'm biased but I know the Oilers are going to win this time as we have advantage because the final game (Game 7) is in Edmonton," Sohi said. "But I think this is an opportunity to really rise above some of the division that we're seeing and unite as two countries."
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
