Surrounded Canadians are fighting back with their weapons of choice: skates, sticks and hockey.

While Americans may see the Edmonton Oiler Florida Panthers Stanley Cup final as a clash between two highly skilled pan-ethnic clubs, many Canadians see this series as a battle for national sovereignty in the Greater Baird nation.

Since 1993, a Canadian-based NHL club has not lifted Lord Stanley's famous Holy Grail. Moreover, the drought has gone from the taunt of Canadian hockey to the serious conversation about Canadian nationality as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks publicly about the annexation of the next neighbor of the United States.

"It's a joke, but now you feel different this year (from the Stanley Cup), especially under threat to Canada's sovereignty and political climate in general," said Andre Costopoulos, director of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alberta. "You can hear it in the conversations of people, on the streets, in the offices, and it sounds even more urgent."

Since the summer of 1994, North America's most respected trophy has made it metaphorically leased, with a winning streak with red, white and blue combined below the 49th parallel.

"I admit the way Canadians are frustrated with the United States, the new government, our economy, our sovereignty and our general attitude toward Canada," Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi told NBC News on Tuesday. "There are definitely a lot of people (Canadians) frustrated by it."

But both politicians have chosen a more optimistic spin and hope the upcoming oil-working business series can show Canadians and Americans more in common than nothing.

“In a sense, I think it’s an opportunity, behind both of our teams, in our case, in our case, in our case, in our case, in our case, in our case, in our case, in our case, and in a competitive way, it gives us a chance to show the mayor of our best Edmontonians,” said a million Edmontonians, which are bigger in the city than St. Jos and the bigger hair.

Despite the drought of the Stanley Cup, hockey is a sport in Canada at least in most respects, and there is little debate.

Of the 920 skaters kidnapped for NHL clubs in 2024-25, Canada was born in Canada (41.5%), while the 290 forwards and defensive players in the United States (31.5%).

Of the 103 men between the 103 pipelines this season, 31 were born in Canada (30%) and 21 were from the United States (20.3%).

And it is likely that no Canadian hockey fans have any recollections of the Stanley Cup drought on February 20, when Edmonton's Connor McDavid scored overtime Canada beat the United States 3-2 in the face-to-face inaugural jobs, reaffirming the advantage of the frozen ponds in the Big White North.

"You can definitely feel it. There is a need for confirmation and affirmation of sovereignty, not just for sports," Costopoulos said. "More broader than that."

The ridicule of Canada not taking home the Stanley Cup may be statistically unfair. Of the 32 NHL teams, only 7 are in Canada.

So, because all factors are equal, in any year, the Vancouver Canadiens, Calgary Flame, Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, Ottawa Senator, Toronto Maple Leaf or Montreal Canadians will be in charge of the Stanley Cup.

Still, the drought has certainly been on Canadian fans, winning championships in the Sun Belt areas of Las Vegas, Anaheim, Tampa, Raleigh, Raleigh and Florida.

There was a time when the NHL moved to warm weather was considered a foolish act.

Kimberly Taylor, a marketing professor at Florida International University, said: "It's a bit common feeling, 'Will this work? Does anyone in South Florida really care about hockey?''

Professor FIU said the success of hockey in South Florida has not snowed since 1977, which may be attributed to the central part of the Panther Arena, the region’s short population, the attraction of hockey to shorter attention has attracted modern sports fans and, most importantly, the team’s recent win.

"The hockey is always moving, even if it's not super high scores. People are scoring goals," she said. "The uninterrupted action really does attract a lot of people (regardless of their hockey background).

The NHL has been moving towards the sunshine for more than 30 years. Lightning (founded in 1992), Black Panthers (1993), Nashville Predators (1998) and Vegas Golden Knights (2017) were added to the Southern Union, and Hartford Whalers turned into a Hurricane in Carolina in 1997.

"McDonald's is more real estate than fast food, right?" said Tywan Martin, a professor of sports science at the University of Miami. "The property is more valuable than a store. The same is true in sports. The NHL proves that you can enter non-traditional territory."

Since Montreal won all the championships in 1993, seven Canadian teams have reached the Stanley Cup finals but lost to clubs in the United States, which is often a heartbreaking game 7.

• The New York Rangers finally calmed down “1940!”. After Game 7 of the 1994 defeat of the Vancouver Canucks, by lifting the Stanley Cup shout.
• The Tampa Bay Chargers put out the Calgary Flames in 2004 and spent seven games.
• The Carolina Hurricanes need seven games to blow up Edmonton in 2006.
• Anaheim flew to the south in the winter with Lord Stanley after five games against the Ottawa Senators in 2007.
• The Boston Bruins need all seven games to beat Vancouver in 2011.
• The Tampa Bay Chargers beat Montreal in five games in 2021.
• Last year, Florida defeated Edmonton with an exciting seven-game victory. The Panthers competed in seven games in Florida.

So close, is it?

"Obviously I'm pretty biased, but I know this time the Oilers will win because we have the advantage because the last game (Game 7) is in Edmonton," Sohi said. "But I think it's a real opportunity to rise beyond what we've seen and united into the divisions of both countries."