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Report: Oilers complained to NHL about Vancouver’s ‘Green Man’ fans in Round 2

Originally posted on Oilersnation | By Mike Gould | Last updated 5/25/24

The Edmonton Oilers were reportedly none too happy with the antics of Vancouver’s notorious “Green Men” hockey fans during their Round 2 playoff series against the Vancouver Canucks.

According to reporting by Rick Dhaliwal, a host of Canucks show Donnie & Dhali, as well as Daily Hive Vancouver‘s Rob Williams, the Oilers took issue with a sign aimed at forward Evander Kane that the Green Men held up next to their penalty box during Game 1 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

The sign read “Evander… What’s the parlay tonight?” It was shown across the country on the nationally-televised Hockey Night in Canada broadcast and was a clear reference to allegations made by Kane’s ex-wife, although the sign was actually held up while Connor Brown was in the penalty box.

.@TheGreenMen !!! We've missed you too! pic.twitter.com/y95KxuuQQ1

— TheTaoOfOat (@TheTaoOfOat) May 9, 2024

Williams reported on Friday that the Green Men were instructed not to hold up that particular sign for the rest of the game, which the Canucks won by a 5-4 final score.

Furthermore, according to Dhaliwal, the Oilers went so far as to lodge an official complaint with the National Hockey League about the masked fans’ conduct, which resulted in their ban from attending the rest of the series—although Williams indicated they had no plans to go to any more games regardless.

“We were told the Edmonton Oilers complained to the NHL in the last round about the Green Men because the Green Men had an Evander Kane sign about gambling,” Dhaliwal said on Thursday’s episode of Donnie & Dhali. “The Green Men were then told you couldn’t go to any more games in Round 2, maybe in Round 3.”

The Green Men first rose to prominence in hockey in the early 2010s, making waves with their creative signs, memorable props, and — at their most extreme — doing handstands against the glass next to the opponent’s penalty box (behaviour which was later banned).

Going by the names “Sully” and “Force,” the Green Men always attended games in costume in the same seats, although their reign of mischief ended seemingly as soon as it began. They made their comeback during a game against the Boston Bruins earlier in the 2023-24 regular season.

The Oilers defeated the Canucks four games to three in the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

This article first appeared on Oilersnation and was syndicated with permission.

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