Montreal bridge to light up in Oilers’ colours for Stanley Cup Final

Montreal’s Samuel-De Champlain Bridge is going to look a little unusual on Wednesday night.

The bridge will light up orange and blue for Wednesday’s Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final in support of Canada’s lone remaining team — the Edmonton Oilers.

In a city that lives for the Montreal Canadiens, director of bridge operations Martin Chamberland knows that not everyone in the city will be fully on board with the decision. But admits he made the call with national pride on his mind.

“It’s for Canadian pride, to support a Canadian team, to support Canada in general,” said Chamberland to the Montreal Gazette on Tuesday. “And especially this year, with what happened with the United States, having a little bit more of Canadian pride is I think a good thing. In general, Canadian nationalism is always good and we’ve had plenty of good comments on our website. For sure there are always haters who complain about everything, but in general people are behind us.”

The Oilers are looking to become the first Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup since the Canadiens did in 1993.

• Watch the Stanley Cup Final on Sportsnet

  With the Stanley Cup within reach, the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers are set to battle once again for hockey’s ultimate prize. Watch every game of the Final on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.

  Broadcast schedule

Chamberland said the bridge would light up in Oilers’ colours for every game of the Stanley Cup Final except for Game 2 on Friday because the bridge had previously been scheduled to be lit up in other colours.

He also said that you can expect this to be the norm in Montreal for years to come, as the bridge will light up in the team colours of any major Montreal sports team or another Canadian NHL team that reaches a final.

However, there is one Canadian club that would make Chamberland think twice.

“I would not be so sure of myself if it had been the Maple Leafs,” said Chamberland. “But for the Oilers I had no worries. And for the Leafs, I was in Toronto in 2021 (when the Canadiens were in the final), and I saw the CN Tower lit up in the bleu blanc rouge. So if they did it in Toronto, I think we should do it in Montreal. But I would expect more blowback with the Maple Leafs, but our position would’ve been the same.”