SportsHockeyOilers

Edmonton Oilers tell Florida Panthers to 'get the hell off the ice' in pre-game spat

Adam Laskaris
Adam Laskaris
|
Jun 17 2025, 4:57 pm
Edmonton Oilers tell Florida Panthers to 'get the hell off the ice' in pre-game spat
Thomas Salus/Imagn Images

The Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers didn’t wait until the game even started before getting into their first spat on Tuesday.

While the altercation didn’t turn physical, it appears that a few words were exchanged between Florida and Edmonton team staffers over a dispute with the team’s morning skates at the Panthers’ practice facility today.

As per Sportsnet’s Mark Spector, the conflict arose with Carter Verhaeghe lingering by himself on a pad the Oilers had slated to use for 11:30 a.m. Verhaeghe ultimately left the ice before 11 a.m. — with plenty of time before the Oilers to use it — though Edmonton appeared to want to get a few extra players onto the ice before their official ice time began.

“Wait. They’re flooding the ice,” Spector paraphrased from a Florida staffer.

“No flood. Get the hell off the ice,” the Oilers staffer replied, per Spector.

Given that Verhaeghe was by his lonesome, it’s unlikely he scuffed up the ice too much to require an extra Zamboni run on the ice.

The altercation — if you can call it that — happened at Florida’s Baptist Health IcePlex arena, located about 30 kilometres east of Amerant Bank Arena. While the Panthers play in the suburban community of Sunrise, Florida, their practice facility is located in the depths of Fort Lauderdale.

Sportsnet had shared video of Verhaeghe’s skate to their social media channels, but have since taken the video down, for undetermined reasons.

Verhaeghe has put up seven goals and 13 assists in 20 playoff games this year, and is expected to play in Game 6. He is first all-time in career playoff goals for the Panthers with 33, while he sits second behind Aleksander Barkov with 73 career playoff points.

TSN’s Ryan Rishaug also shared that Vasiliy Podkolzin — an apparent healthy scratch for the do-or-die Game 6 — was among the players taking the ice after Verhaeghe.

Puck drop for Tuesday’s Game 6 is slated for 6 p.m. MT, with the game broadcast nationally on both CBC and Sportsnet.

ADVERTISEMENT