SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Canada's Stanley Cup drought could finally come to an end this year. It has been 30 years since the Canadian hockey team hoisted the famous trophy at the end of the NHL playoffs, but the Edmonton Oilers are back in the final trying once again. They're facing off against the Florida Panthers. It's a redo of last year's championship. To discuss, we're going to bring in reporter Daniel Nugent-Bowman, who covers the Oilers for The Athletic. Welcome.
DANIEL NUGENT-BOWMAN: Oh, it's nice to be on with you, Scott. Has it really been 30 years?
DETROW: Yes.
NUGENT-BOWMAN: We never talked about that up here.
DETROW: I don't know if you knew that (laughter).
NUGENT-BOWMAN: Oh, no.
DETROW: So let's start with that context because...
NUGENT-BOWMAN: Yeah.
DETROW: ...It's this interesting moment of sustained Canadian nationalism and angered Americans - right? - over President Trump's trade policies and taunts about annexing Canada. You saw that become the central storyline of that 4 Nations Face-Off tournament earlier this year. And now, again, it's a Canadian team against a team from Florida. So I'm wondering, has this energy made its way into the finals in terms of the conversation?
NUGENT-BOWMAN: It certainly will. I mean, the Oilers just closed out their series against the Dallas Stars on Thursday night, to get to the - back to the cup final. It's a storyline that kind of casual fans really gravitate toward because it's Canada - it's Canadian teams that you...
DETROW: Yeah.
NUGENT-BOWMAN: ...Kind of cheer for, you root for. But within the game, I mean, you know, a good portion of the league - it's over 50% of the players are Canadian and, you know, obviously play on these American teams, too. So there's a lot of star players that typically play for American teams. I'll think of the 2019 St. Louis Blues. When they won, I think all but, like, three players were from Canada. So there's always players playing for the Stanley Cup. There's always a flavor to it.
DETROW: And a lot of Canadian teams actually made it into the playoffs this year. Once again, it's just the Oilers in the finals. I'm curious, do other Canadian fans - like, say, you're a Calgary Flames fan, who spends most of the year hating the Oilers. Do you see kind of a broader getting on board with the Canadian team in a moment like this?
NUGENT-BOWMAN: I think it honestly depends on how big of a fan you are and how much you hate the...
DETROW: (Laughter).
NUGENT-BOWMAN: ...Rival team. Like, if you're a diehard Calgary Flames fan, I think you'd rather see the Stanley Cup dumped in the Atlantic Ocean, or what have you...
DETROW: So nobody wins it.
NUGENT-BOWMAN: ...Yeah - than the Edmonton Oilers winning it.
DETROW: What is the story of the team this year?
NUGENT-BOWMAN: You know...
DETROW: What's the main story line?
NUGENT-BOWMAN: Yeah, I think it's that they're a stronger team than they were last year. And I use the word - T with, you know, a capital T because this year, you know, 19 different players have scored a goal. They've had both goalies contribute more than last year. Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard contributed six wins each to the 12. They're getting contributions from eight defensemen. When six play, they've had to - you know, they've been missing their top defenseman, Mattias Ekholm, until the last game, the clinching game against Dallas. So they've had a lot of guys come in, step up. And, you know, they've had - as Leon Draisaitl said the other day, this is the most depth that they've ever had since he's been on the roster.
DETROW: You can't think about the Edmonton Oilers without thinking about their greatest player ever, Wayne Gretzky...
NUGENT-BOWMAN: Sure.
DETROW: ...Who, of course, has had a tricky year in Canada, been closely associated with Donald Trump. And a lot of people criticized him for not defending Canada more strongly as Trump taunted the country. What do you think the Oilers do with Wayne Gretzky in the Stanley Cup final? Do you think he's dropping the first puck or making any appearance whatsoever?
NUGENT-BOWMAN: No, I don't. I mean, he did get a lot of flak up here, for sure.
DETROW: Yeah.
NUGENT-BOWMAN: There's a statue outside of the arena that has, you know, had different, you know, signs. And I don't know if it was ever quite defaced, but there's been some backlash. There's an exit off the freeway that used to head toward where the previous arena was, called Wayne Gretzky Drive. There was a petition and garnered, you know, quite a few signatures to have that name changed. So there has been some backlash here, without question.
DETROW: That was Daniel Nugent-Bowman, reporter for The Athletic. Thanks so much for talking to us.
NUGENT-BOWMAN: Oh, you're very welcome.
(SOUNDBITE OF HOT CHOCOLATE SONG, "EVERY 1'S A WINNER") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
