June 17, 2025 The Agony Of Defeat

It all started when spring erupted in full bloom across much of our great nation. Except Edmonton and Winnipeg. It was still winter there. Maybe that was our. lucky charm?

The NHL Playoffs began in early April. Five Canadian Teams stood tall, vying for hockey’s greatest prize. 

The Stanley Cup.

Hopes ran high in Winnipeg, Toronto, and Edmonton. Even Ottawa and Montreal held out a sense of optimism.

But everyone knew that Ottawa faced an uphill battle against Toronto, and Montreal was playing the best team in the east, led by Alex Ovechkin.

By the beginning of May, Ottawa and Montreal were at home resting for another year. 

At this point, I was hooked on playoff hockey like I haven’t been in years.

Could this be Canada’s year? 

Visions of a Winnipeg-Edmonton Western Conference final danced in our heads. Everything was set for an all Canadian encounter. The drama increased when Mark Scheifele’s dad died the day of the all-important 6th game. Mark would go to have the game if his life, but it wasn’t enough.

Just a game.

That is what it is all about – a game. A game that has been played in backyards across Canada for more than a century.

A game hijacked.

Still, I watched, transfixed, as Winnipeg scored with 1.6 seconds left to extend their season. Then we felt the heartbreak as Sheifele watched from the penalty box while Dallas devoured his dreams, and the dreams of so many Canadians. Myself included.

It was up to Toronto and Edmonton. Two teams I dread to cheer for. Toronto because they always let their fans down and Edmonton because… well, because I’m a Flames fan. It’s just not allowed.

When Toronto didn’t show up for Game 7 against Florida, I was left with no choice.

In all reality, there was a choice. I could have turned off hockey like I did one year ago.

Except we were at war with our neighbours to the south. And we can’t let them win hockey’s holy grail – again. 

So I went all in. I cheered on The Enemy… the Edmonton Oilers. Even typing the words, I feel the effects of a lifetime of rivalry.

But I cheered them on at the bar, at my friends and my home on the mountain.

It would be at the mountain home where I would watch the ultimate demise of Canada’s Stanley Cup dreams. After Florida scored early and Edmonton couldn’t answer, the country knew. They were out of miraculous comebacks. Emptying the net with 7 minutes on the clock was the ultimate surrender.

Time wound down, and the Panthers scored another empty net goal. I felt empty inside, lost and hurt.

Why? 

Because hockey is an extension of our identity. Canada doesn’t have that many things we can call truly our own. Basketball was invented by a Canadian but it is now fully owned in the USA.

The NHL was supposed to be ours. That stopped in 1993… 

The playoff run of 2025 will be remembered like so many before it. A time when Canada almost brought the cup home.

It’s only a game!

Why doesn’t that thought relate to the way so many people felt when Florida skated away from Edmonton’s best? 

I wish Edmonton had at least shown up and made a game of it…

It’s only a game.

Now, what will we do as a nation to unite? We must find a way to stay united as one great nation.

Canada.

And until next year – Go Stamps Go. Go Flames Go.