Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has proposed a new hockey bet—this time with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis—as the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers face off in the Stanley Cup Final, which began Saturday night, June 8.
In a
post on X on June 8 in the afternoon, Ms. Smith told Mr. DeSantis that the bet is “for all the marbles,” and whoever loses the Cup will have to send a top-notch spirit to the winning side to enjoy it.
“Our Edmonton Oilers are going to beat the Florida Panthers and when we do, would you send some of your finest Florida rum to Alberta for us to celebrate with?” the premier wrote in her post before Game 1 commenced at
Amerant Bank Arena in
Sunrise, Florida.
“If by some miracle the Panthers win the series, then I will send some fine Alberta-made whiskey down to Florida,” she added.
“Do you agree?”
Game 1 ended with the Panthers beating the Oilers 3-0 to take a 1
–0 lead in the finals.
Game 2 will see the two teams compete back at the Amerant Bank Arena on June 10 before the best-of-seven series shifts to Rogers Place in Edmonton on June 13.
As of the time of publication, Mr. DeSantis had not responded to the proposal on
his X account.
The challenge Ms. Smith put out to Mr. DeSantis was similar to the one she had with Texas Governor Gregg Abbott. In her wager
on May 21, the premier said Mr. Abbott would have to eat an Alberta rib steak on video if the Oilers defeated the Dallas Stars. Should the Stars win, she said she would “do the same.”
The Oilers
went on to beat the Stars 2
–1 in Game 6 of the best-of-seven series on June 2. Mr. Abbott made good on the bet.
“Congrats to the [Edmonton Oilers] on winning the #WCF and Alberta Premier [Danielle Smith] on winning our bet,” Mr. Abbott said in a
June 7 post on X. “As promised, this is best steak I’ve ever had. From Canada.”
“I lost a bet to the Alberta premier where I have to eat a steak from Alberta,” he said in a video attached to the social media post where the governor was sitting outside at a table, eating the meal.
“It is definitely the best steak I’ve ever had from Canada. Must be from a cow raised in Texas,” he quipped.
B.C. Premier David Eby also
honoured his wager with Ms. Smith when the Vancouver Canucks lost Game 7 to the Oilers on home ice May 20 despite rallying in the third period to score two goals, putting the final score at 3
–2.
The premiers made a bet on May 3 that whoever lost the Edmonton Oilers-Vancouver Canucks Round 2 matchup would have to read a statement in the legislature written by the winner while wearing the opposing team’s jersey.
Mr. Eby delivered his end of the bargain by posting a
video of himself on X in the Oilers jersey and reading a statement written by Ms. Smith.
“A bet’s a bet,” he said in the post.
“Yes Oilers, you’re Canada’s team now,” Mr. Eby said in the video. “Go get ’em. We hope you win. Bring the Stanley Cup home to Canada.”
‘Friendly Wager’
Meanwhile, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson similarly fulfilled his Oilers playoff bet with the mayor of Edmonton.In a
video posted on X on June 7, Mr. Johnson wished the Oilers best of luck in the Stanley Cup against the Panthers—all while sporting an orange Oilers jersey.
“To be honest, I’d prefer not to be wearing this, but a bet’s a bet,” Mr. Johnson said in the video.
“I promised the mayor of Edmonton, Amarjeet Sohi, that if the Edmonton Oilers beat the Dallas Stars in the NHL Western Conference Final, I would wear an Oilers jersey and record a good luck video.”
Mr. Sohi
responded about an hour and a half later, thanking Mr. Johnson “for being such a great sport.” He also gave a “big shout out” to Stars’ fans, commending them for making the series memorable.
It seems the bet on the Oilers-Panthers matchup won’t go anytime soon, as the mayor of the City of Sunrise, Florida, also reached out to Mr. Sohi on June 7 for a “friendly wager.”
“When the Florida Panthers win the Stanley Cup, I’ll send you a cats jersey for you to wear at your next big public event,”
said Mayor Mike Ryan in a video posted by the city on X.
“What do you say, Mayor Sohi? Let’s go, cats!”
Mr. Sohi said he accepted Mr. Ryan’s terms.
“A lot of mayors are wearing Oilers jerseys today, and you are next!” he
said in a video on X several hours later.
Chandra Philip and Jennifer Cowan contributed to this report.
