EDMONTON – James Obenauer-Fossett could have an Edmonton Oilers tattoo on his shoulder, however for this playoff run the Habs have his allegiance.
He and different hockey followers throughout Canada are rallying behind the Montreal Canadiens, the final group standing north of the border within the hunt for the NHL’s Stanley Cup.
Montreal’s second-round collection in opposition to the Buffalo Sabres begins Wednesday night time. In the event that they win all of it, they’d be the primary Canadian group to seize the Cup since 1993, when Montreal defeated the Los Angeles Kings within the closing.
That might be simply tremendous with Obenauer-Fossett, whose loyalty to the Oilers is dipped in ink — he has a tattoo of Oilers mascot Hunter the Lynx.
“It’s been 30 years because the Cup has been again in Canada, and it might be good to have it again,” he stated.
“It doesn’t matter which Canadian group goes for it. I’ll cheer for any Canadian group.”
The shift hits exhausting in Edmonton, the place the Oilers got here oh so near the Cup within the final two years, solely to get dispatched within the first spherical this spring by the Anaheim Geese.
“Clearly it hurts proper now,” stated 22-year-old fan Naseer Hussain in Edmonton.
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He’s often an Oilers fan however stated it’s solely honest he will get behind Montreal, like so many Canadians did for the Oilers of their latest back-to-back runs within the Cup closing.
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“We wish to deliver that Cup dwelling again to Canada, the place the Cup started its journey. As a result of that is the place it belongs. It’s necessary that we unite.”
In Canada, making the leap from cheering for the hometown group to the Canadiens is just not, for some, a huge shift in allegiance. NHL rinks throughout the nation are usually inundated with followers cheering for the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge.
Robert Hing has lived in Calgary for 20 years, however the 49-year-old has but to undertake the hometown Flames as his group.
“I wish to say I used to be born with the Habs crest on my chest,” stated the Canadiens fan. Born in Ontario, he thought of Montreal a second dwelling till he was drawn to Calgary by a woman who has maintained her title as a Flames fan.
Hing went to Montreal final week to observe in individual because the Habs misplaced a 1-0 time beyond regulation heartbreaker to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Recreation 6 of their first-round collection.
On Sunday, he hung across the metropolis to observe Montreal put solely 9 pictures on internet but nonetheless upset the Lightning to win Recreation 7.
“The sport didn’t appear to be it was going our method, however when (Alex) Newhook scored that (game-winning) aim, you may simply really feel this eruption. I didn’t sit down after that,” Hing stated.
“There’s solely about eight minutes left within the recreation, all people watching was simply dwelling and dying on each single play.
“A lot stress however a lot pleasure on the finish of it.”
Winnipeg can also be dwelling to many Canadiens followers who make their presence identified. They crammed so lots of the seats for a Canadiens-Jets recreation in Winnipeg in February, Jets coach Scott Arniel stated he was disenchanted on the massive variety of crimson jerseys within the seats.
Within the metropolis’s largely francophone St. Boniface neighbourhood, Habs video games make for busy nights on the Pregame Sports activities Bar and Lounge.
“We get Canadiens followers. We’re in a French group. We get quite a lot of them, however all people ought to guess on the Canadiens proper now,” proprietor Tyler Evans stated.
The bar is primarily centered on the Jets, Evans stated, however Winnipeg didn’t make the playoffs, so the bar has been providing reductions, together with $5 drinks, throughout playoff video games involving Canadian groups. The response within the first spherical throughout Oilers, Senators and Canadiens video games was sturdy, Evans stated.
The happy-hour pricing runs so long as the video games do, and solely when a group based mostly in Canada is on the ice. With Edmonton and Ottawa eradicated, that leaves Montreal video games.
“If we go to triple time beyond regulation, we run that $5 drinks all through,” Evans stated.
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Might 6, 2026.
— With recordsdata from Steve Lambert in Winnipeg and Dayne Patterson in Calgary
© 2026 The Canadian Press