With three former Calgary Flames With the Florida Panthers roster — Sam Bennett, Ryan Lomborg and Matthew Tkachuk — you'd think it would be easy for Flames fans to choose their favorite Stanley Cup player.
If it were up to Gus Thorson, owner of Breakaway Sports Repair and former Calgary Flames equipment manager, you’d be right.
When it came to choosing between the Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers, Thorson said it was a no-brainer.
“Calgarians have to cheer against Edmonton,” Thorson said. “Seeing former Flames players come to Florida gives them a little reason to cheer there.”
Maybe it's a generational thing. Sam McKinley, a young Flames fan who just finished an undefeated season with the national champion UNB Reds hockey team, said enough is enough that no Canadian team has won the trophy in 31 years.
“It's been too long. I don't know, it's a tough little hole for the Canadiens to be in, and there's nothing the Flames can do right now.”
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McKinley said he would get in trouble for rooting for the Oilers.
“It's a tough balance. I don't really know who to pick, but at the end of the day you have to pick Team Canada.”
Jamal Shaw, who calls himself a former Flames fan, said people in the North have shown great support for the Flames.
“The Flames didn't make the playoffs, so I was an Oilers fan. Most of my roommates were Oilers fans, too,” Shaw said.
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