How Drake ended up losing $500,000 wager after Oilers' Stanley Cup Final defeat

The Edmonton Oilers lost the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, and Canadian rapper Drake must now face part of the disappointment. He bet $500,000 on the Edmonton Oilers to win the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. Unfortunately, it didn't happen, and the Florida Panthers defeated the Oilers 2-1 in Game 7.

Drake had himself made his bet public through his Instagram account where he goes by the username "champagpnepapi."

Drake wrote:

"Dallas cause I'm a Texan... Oilers are self explanatory."

He would've won a humongous $1.05 million, had Edmonton secured the series. However, Connor McDavid and his camp lost despite putting up a good fight. They were down 3-0 at the start of the series before making their comeback and winning three games straight to force a Game 7.

McDavid scored three goals and eight assists in the series but failed to erase the one-goal advantage picked by Florida in the second period of Game 7. That particular goal became the sole reason for their loss.

Drake was also unlucky in his NBA bet as the Dallas Mavericks lost to the Boston Celtics 4-1 in the NBA Finals. Just like Edmonton, the Mavericks trailed the Celtics by three games. However, unlike the Oilers, Dallas succumbed in Game 5 after winning Game 4. Both these bets cost Drake $1 million.

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A look at Edmonton Oilers' 2-1 loss that cost Drake half a million

The Edmonton Oilers faced heartbreak in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, losing 2-1 to the Florida Panthers despite a valiant effort. After falling behind early, they rallied to tie the game but couldn't overcome the Panthers' decisive second-period goal by Sam Reinhart.

Despite a strong push in the third period, where they outshot Florida, they couldn't break through Sergei Bobrovsky's defense.

Oilers forward Zach Hyman said after the game:

“It’s devastating. You go through an entire year, the 25 games in the playoffs and you just battle through everything and you get the closest you can ever come. I mean, you’re one goal away from sending it to overtime. It’s heartbreaking.”

The loss marked the end of a remarkable season that saw the Oilers defy early-season struggles to reach the final.

Captain Connor McDavid, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP despite the loss, said:

“We went through a lot of ups and downs and came that close. I’m really proud, proud of the way we fought all year. We were behind the 8-ball almost immediately and fought an uphill climb for months and months and months and it.”

The Panthers' win over Edmonton gave them their first-ever Stanley Cup.