Like father, unlike son: Family's Cup loyalties divided over Oilers, Panthers
For the LeBlanc family, the Oilers are their No. 1 team, and the Florida Panthers are No. 1A.
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Or is the the other way around?
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Brian LeBlanc arrived in Florida Wednesday night, and will be accompanying with his son, Wolfgang for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final Thursday night at Amerant Bank Arena. Wolfgang married an American woman and moved to Florida several years ago.
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Wolfgang is Panthers fan. Brian loves the Oilers. But it's not like they have a heated rivalry.
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'It's (the Panthers) the only team I cheer for when Edmonton's not playing,' said Brian as the two waited for an Uber to take them to the game from a hotel parking lot in Sunrise, Fla.
But is Brian confident, even with the Oilers down two games to one? Or will his son get the last laugh in 2025, just as he did in 2024?
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'I think we'll be fine,' said Brian. 'I think the Oilers will win tonight, and it will be a best of three. Before the series, I was thinking Oilers in six. Now I am thinking Oilers in seven.'
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'I'd love to see a second Cup,' said Wolfgang, who dangled the D-word (that's 'dynasty') in relation to the Panthers. But he also wants to make his dad happy.
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'But at the same time, we won it last year. He deserves this. He's been a longtime, lifetime fan. If the Oilers win, I'll be OK with it.'
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You might think that Wolfgang became a Panthers fan after he made the move southeast. But, that wasn't the case. When he was growing up in Alberta, he'd already made the Cats his favourite team.
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'I've always liked to support the Oilers, but I've been a Cats' fan since '99,' said Wolfgang. 'I guess moving to Florida was a loosely ordained destiny, because here I am.'
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Mike Serra became an Oilers fan when they faced the New York Islanders in the 1983 and '84 Stanley Cup Final. The experienced Islanders won the first matchup, the up-and-coming Oilers took the second. Serra is hoping that happens again between the Panthers and Oilers.
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He used to send handwritten fan letters to the Oilers, and he received letters back, and even some hockey cards. A little goes a long way when it comes to turning a burgeoning fan into a lifelong fan.
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'He's not like a robot or something,' said Serra. 'You get over 40 shots on him, he's going to start missing some of them. Especially top shelf, high-blocker side. He's always getting scored on that side.'
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