Vegas Strikes Back With Savage Humor, Puts Up Billboards Mocking Oilers Fans All Over Edmonton After Heated Playoff Clash

Edmonton, Alberta — Hockey may be played on ice, but the latest playoff feud between the Edmonton Oilers and the Vegas Golden Knights is burning red-hot — not just on the rink, but now across the skyline of downtown Edmonton. In a move as bold as it is petty, the Golden Knights organization or one of its supporters has taken trash talk to a new level, erecting a series of billboards all over Edmonton aimed squarely at Oilers fans. The message: Vegas hasn’t forgotten, and they’re not done having fun at Edmonton’s expense.

The billboards, emblazoned with slogans taunting Edmonton’s hockey faithful, have popped up in several high-traffic locations around the city, including Whyte Avenue, near Rogers Place, and along major highway routes. Messages like “House Always Wins,” “No Oil in the Desert,” and “Vegas: Your Playoff Kryptonite” have drawn sharp reactions from both delighted Vegas fans and outraged Edmontonians.

The Golden Knights and Oilers have developed one of the more bitter recent rivalries in the NHL, especially after their heated playoff series in 2023, which Vegas won in six games before going on to hoist the Stanley Cup. Since then, tensions have only escalated, with each meeting marked by physical play, online chirping, and media potshots. But nobody quite expected this level of trolling — and certainly not on Oilers home turf.

“Waking up to that billboard on my way to work? That was a punch to the gut,” said Connor B., a lifelong Oilers fan who commutes daily down 109 Street. “We can chirp each other on Twitter all day, but putting that right in our faces in our own city? That’s next-level petty.”

While the billboards do not explicitly state they are from the Vegas Golden Knights organization, the connection is obvious. The color scheme matches the team’s branding, the slogans reference well-known jabs used by Vegas fans online, and the style resembles promotional material the team has previously used. It’s unclear whether the campaign was directly funded by the organization, an affiliate, or a well-resourced fan group, but either way, the message is loud and unmistakable: Vegas is in Edmonton’s head — rent free.

Reaction in Edmonton has ranged from outrage to reluctant admiration. On sports talk radio, fans vented their frustration, calling the move “classless” and “disrespectful,” with some even demanding the city investigate whether the billboards violate any advertising guidelines. One particularly heated caller to 630 CHED compared it to “someone spray painting your front door,” while others took a more philosophical tone.

“Honestly, I hate it, but it’s kind of genius,” said Jamie McMillan, a season ticket holder since 2005. “They beat us, they earned the right to chirp us. Now it’s on us to respond the right way — on the ice.”

Vegas fans, unsurprisingly, are relishing every moment. On social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), fans posted photos of the billboards with captions like “Tourist attraction of the year” and “Oilers tears taste best when served cold.” Some even joked about booking trips to Edmonton just to take selfies with the signs. The Vegas Golden Knights’ official account posted a cryptic eye emoji when one of the billboards went viral, further fanning the flames.

Whether the campaign is a masterstroke of psychological warfare or just tasteless provocation depends on who you ask. But it’s undeniable that it has struck a chord — and maybe even a nerve — in a hockey-mad city where emotions run high during playoff season. Edmonton has long considered itself a bastion of traditional hockey culture, a gritty northern outpost where the game is sacred and its fans are deeply passionate. So when an upstart franchise from a desert entertainment hub decides to rub it in their faces, the response is predictably fierce.

“This isn’t just hockey banter. This is personal,” said Oilers fan group organizer Samantha Reid. “We’ve supported this team through thick and thin, through rebuilds, heartbreaks, everything. To have Vegas come in here and make a joke out of us — nah, we’re not letting that slide.”

In response, some Edmonton fans have floated the idea of a counter-campaign — a series of pro-Oilers billboards in Las Vegas mocking the Knights’ fans or taking jabs at their relative lack of history. “We were winning Cups before they had sidewalks,” one fan joked on Facebook, referencing the Oilers’ dynasty in the 1980s. A GoFundMe page titled “Operation Payback” was even started by a group of fans, seeking to raise money to buy ad space along the Las Vegas Strip. As of Tuesday morning, it had raised over $13,000.

The Oilers themselves have not issued an official statement, but several players were reportedly aware of the billboards before practice on Monday. A few, including Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman, were seen laughing about the situation in the locker room, while others declined to comment. Connor McDavid, ever the diplomat, simply said, “Our focus is on what happens on the ice. That’s where the real statements are made.”

Still, it’s clear that the tactic — whatever its intent — has achieved its goal: stirring the pot ahead of what’s shaping up to be another intense playoff showdown between these two Western Conference powerhouses. As both teams jockey for seeding and momentum, the psychological aspect of the game has taken center stage. And in that regard, Vegas may already be winning.

It’s not the first time that professional sports teams have used billboard campaigns to troll rival cities. In 2021, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers put up signs around New Orleans after beating the Saints in the playoffs, and back in 2015, Toronto Raptors fans famously organized a “We the North” billboard near the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. But few campaigns have felt as surgical — or as raw — as this one. Edmonton is not just another NHL city. It’s a place where hockey isn’t just a sport, but a way of life. So when outsiders mock it, especially after eliminating their beloved team, the response is always going to be fierce.

“It’s like poking a bear,” said retired Edmonton police officer Derek Hunter. “Vegas better be ready for what comes next.”

For now, the billboards remain up, and the debate continues. Some Edmonton residents have called for them to be taken down, contacting city officials and ad agencies. Others have resigned themselves to living with the taunts — at least until the Oilers get a chance to respond in kind. Local businesses have even gotten in on the act, with one pub offering half-off wings for every billboard sighting posted with the hashtag #OilDownVegas.

Meanwhile, in Vegas, fans are watching the chaos unfold with popcorn in hand. For a franchise that has prided itself on being unconventional and unapologetically flashy, this latest stunt is just another chapter in their young but already dramatic history. And whether or not they admit it, even some Edmonton fans are starting to respect the audacity.

“I hate them,” said fan Troy Leduc, “but damn if they didn’t make this rivalry 100 times more fun.”

As the NHL season rolls on and the playoffs loom large, the stage is set for what could be another epic collision between Edmonton and Vegas. But no matter what happens on the scoreboard, one thing is certain: the war of words — and billboards — is officially on.

And Edmonton, it seems, has become the newest battleground.