Hockey is the top sport in Canada, and the National Hockey League reigns supreme among professional sports leagues. Seven Canadian teams compete in the league for the coveted Stanley Cup trophy.
After a 30+ year drought of no Stanley Cups, Canada is four wins away from seeing a championship return to the country.
After Canada's win, then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau poked fun at Trump.
"You can't take our country – and you can't take our game," Trudeau tweeted.
While Trudeau may have been correct about the international tournament, he wasn't entirely truthful about Canada's "game."
Hockey may be the most loved sport in Canada, but the last time a team from the country won the Stanley Cup was in 1993, when the Montreal Canadiens won the championship.
In last year's NHL Playoffs, around 75% of the current NHL players were not born the last time a Canadian team won a Stanley Cup, according to ESPN. About 3% of NHL players today were five years old or older and likely able to remember a Canadian team winning the cup.
Since the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup in 1993, there have been 15 U.S teams to win the championship.
History shows that Canadian teams still rank among the all-time best in NHL and Stanley Cup history. The Canadiens rank first with 23 Stanley Cup wins. Ranking second is also a Canadian team, with the Maple Leafs winning 13 Stanley Cups. The Edmonton Oilers rank sixth all-time with five Stanley Cup wins.
Canada had five of their seven NHL teams make the 2024-2025 NHL Playoffs, and one remains with a chance to end the drought.
2025 Stanley Cup Matchup: For the second straight season, the Oilers and Florida Panthers meet in the Stanley Cup Finals. Last season saw the Panthers win their first championship in franchise history beating the Oilers in seven games of the best-of-seven series.
NHL history has witnessed several back-to-back Stanley Cup final matchups, and in many cases, the team that lost the first year ends up winning a championship the following season in the rematch.
The best-of-seven series kicks off Wednesday, June 4, with television coverage of the entire series belonging to Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD). Games all start at 8 p.m. ET and will be available to watch on TNT, truTV and to stream on Max.
Here is the schedule:
- Wednesday, June 4 in Edmonton
- Friday, June 6 in Edmonton
- Monday, June 9 in Florida
- Thursday, June 12 in Florida
- Saturday, June 14 in Edmonton (if necessary)
- Tuesday, June 17 in Florida (if necessary)
- Friday, June 20 in Edmonton (if necessary)
Having many Canadian teams in the playoffs may be hurting U.S. viewership, but it could also benefit Rogers Communications (NYSE:RCI), which has rights in Canada. NHL Playoffs viewership is averaging 1.97 million viewers in Canada, up 21% year over year.
Stanley Cup Betting Odds: The betting markets favor the Oilers in the series slightly with sportsbook DraftKings Inc (NASDAQ:DKNG) listing odds at -120 for the Oilers and +100 for the Panthers.
On the prediction market, Kalshi, the odds are 55% for the Oilers and 45% for the Panthers.
Users can bet on individual games and the series’ exact results. Kalshi users predict the series will go six or seven games, with Edmonton winning 4-2 and Florida winning 4-3 ranking second at 20% and Edmonton winning 4-3 the top pick at 21% of wagers.
On prediction market Polymarket, the Oilers are listed as the favorite at 53% with the Panthers given odds of 48% to win the Stanley Cup.
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