What Could a Stanley Cup Parade In Edmonton Look Like?

The City of Edmonton is working with the Oilers to prepare for a Stanley Cup win or loss after Game 7. Adam Proteau looks at what a celebration or parade could look like.

The Edmonton Oilers have a chance to complete an improbable comeback by winning Game 7 of their Stanley Cup final against the Florida Panthers. 

If the Oilers do win, there will be one heck of a championship celebration in Edmonton. 

The City of Edmonton says it's excited for Monday night's game and is working with Oilers Entertainment Group to prepare for a win or loss in Game 7.

"Further details will be made available when we know the outcome of tonight's game," spokesperson Karen McDonnell said in an email.

Where could an Oilers rally and/or parade take place? Let’s look at history and see if that’s an indication.

When Edmonton's Canadian Football League team won a Grey Cup championship in 2015, there was a rally at Sir Winston Churchill Square by City Hall.

When the Oilers celebrated the Cup multiple times in the 1980s up until 1990, the parade routes varied. At one point, the parade went from the Alberta Legislature up through downtown to City Hall. At another point, the celebrations went to Commonwealth Stadium, where more than 50,000 delirious Edmonton fans were waiting to celebrate. 

Either way, there's no doubt a parade and rally would have to factor in the growth in the city since the 1980s, with the population of Edmonton proper at 1.01 million in 2021 compared to about 605,000 in 1990.

Now that Rogers Place is a key part of the city, that arena could be part of a parade celebration along 104 Avenue, three blocks from Edmonton's main street, Jasper Avenue.

Another parade, K-Days in 2019, ran along Jasper Avenue and then north on 101 Steet past the Edmonton City Centre mall before ending one block away from Rogers Place. And when Edmonton hosted the Grey Cup in 2018, it had a parade along Jasper as well.

In any case, a celebration is also expected to have no shortage of pizza. Boston Pizza said it plans to give away 30,000 free pizzas on parade day.

The prospect of a Cup celebration has Edmontonians thrilled and on the edge of their seats, and the passion they have for the Oilers is palpable. Time will tell if Edmonton has another championship parade in its immediate future, but the history of sports success dictates that familiar roads will be traversed if celebrations kick off.

If Florida wins, those celebrations will be brief and bittersweet, but if the Oilers pull off one more victory, fans will erupt in joy and show themselves to be as die-hard as any fan base in hockey.

Jonathan Tovell contributed to this article.

Get the latest news and trending stories right to your inbox by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here.