All aboard! Superfan encourages others to join the Oilers’ bandwagon

With the Stanley Cup on the line, all eyes – and hopes – are on the Edmonton Oilers – Canada’s last team in the NHL playoffs.

The Edmonton Oilers are the final Canadian team remaining in the National Hockey League Playoffs.

Superfan Scott Purdie is encouraging everyone to hop on board his team’s Stanley Cup bandwagon and could be found holding a team flag on Welton Street in Sydney during afternoon traffic Wednesday.

“For us Oilers fans, there’s all kinds of room for fans - in particular, Toronto Maple Leafs fans,” Purdie joked.

The Leafs’ fan base was disappointed yet again on Sunday night, with a 6-1 loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 7 on home ice – leaving the Oilers as the only team left with a chance to break Canada’s 32-year Stanley Cup drought.

The last time a team north of the border won the Cup was the Montreal Canadiens during the 1992-93 season.

“If you’re a Toronto Maple Leafs fan and you’ve been absolutely crushed, in particular over the past nine or ten playoff rounds, then I would strongly suggest that you would cheer for a team that may have better success in bringing the Stanley Cup home,” Purdie said.

While some fans might not care about breaking the Canadian Cup jinx, Will MacLaren, a Cole Harbour, N.S.-based writer for The Hockey News, said there are also those who would be unlikely to cheer for Edmonton.

“I can’t see a Calgary Flames fan, for example, or even a Vancouver Canucks fan jumping on the bandwagon,” MacLaren said.

However, MacLaren believes the Oilers’ quest for the Cup could play into the nationalism people are feeling right now, especially when it comes to the United States.

“Your casual fans, for sure, there’s a lot of hype already,” he said. “People want to see this streak broken, if only just to see the streak broken - and especially in these times, wanting to see a Canadian team win it all.”

The Oilers face the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final – the same team Edmonton beat last year to advance to their first Stanley Cup Final in eighteen years.

Purdie admits the Stars will be tough, but has faith.

“Vegas was tough as well, but Oilers made it look easy,” he said. “So, I think if they play the way they did against the Vegas Golden Knights, then they’ve got a pretty good shot at bringing the Cup home.”

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