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Widow of Edmonton Oilers player Colby Cave says she was used for 'publicity and money'

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
|
Jun 10 2025, 8:27 pm
Widow of Edmonton Oilers player Colby Cave says she was used for 'publicity and money'
em.cave/Instagram

Emily Cave Boit, the widow of Colby Cave, is not happy with the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation.

Cave played 44 combined games with the Oilers during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons before tragically passing away in April of 2020 after suffering a brain bleed and being placed in a medically-induced coma shortly after.

Cave’s passing rocked the entire hockey community, and a short time after, the Oilers began the Colby Cave Memorial Fund with Emily and the rest of the Cave family.

But on Monday, Emily took to social media, suggesting the memorial fund was created more for publicity than kindheartedness.

“It comes down to my storyline isn’t profitable anymore. It was in the beginning, especially when I would be told things like “tears make more money” and so many other things before going on national television,” Emily wrote in part of a lengthy statement.

“I have fought and still fight for Colby to be respected and not forgotten. This has nothing to do with me. I never wanted the attention. I didn’t even ask for the memorial fund. But when it was presented to me, I accepted and did it for Colby’s legacy, and trusted others to have the same intention.

“Looking back, my biggest mistake and regret was that. I was young, naive, in shock, and fresh in my grief.

“I was used for publicity and money.”

 

Emily said several “red flags” had popped up regarding the memorial fund, including an instance where over $1 million went missing.

“I remember the first red flag went up, then the second, then the third… Now I have lost count,” she wrote. “Whether it was money missing (over $1 million to be exact), countless decisions made without my permission, or me starting to date Colin (current husband) becoming a problem, each ‘apology’ never showed actual remorse or change.”

Emily has since confirmed that the money had been found and placed back into the fund, though the missing money was far from her only frustration.

“Although I’m at a loss for words, yet again, I am not shocked. The amount of complete and utter disrespect that has been happening behind the scenes for years now, the public couldn’t fathom. The politics and business side of Colby’s death is something I will never stand for.

“Disgusted is an understatement.”

We have reached out to the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation for comment but have yet to hear back.

The Colby Cave Memorial Fund was initially created with the purpose of allocating funds towards community programs, with an emphasis on mental health initiatives and providing access to sports for underprivileged children.

Emily admitted that the reason she took so long to speak on her frustrations was to protect the children who have been helped as a result of the foundation.

“I have bitten my tongue for one sake only, the hundreds of kiddos that have been helped through the memorial fund. Despite knowing, Colby would have told me to walk and shut it down years ago, when the first red flag went up.

“I have kept it going for those kiddos and their families.”

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