The Sports Report: An Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup win would make Jewish history

By Jacob Gurvis

(JTA) – The NHL Stanley Cup Finals dropped the puck on Wednesday June 4, as the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers face off in a rematch of last year. Stay tuned tonight for game 2 of the best of 7 series.

The Oilers boast Jewish defenseman Jake Walman and his injured teammate, star winger Zach Hyman. The franchise is also owned by Jewish billionaire businessman Daryl Katz.

Walman joined the Oilers at the trade deadline this season and tallied an impressive eight points in the final 15 games of the regular season. His 40 points overall nearly doubled his previous career high of 21 last season. In Game 1 of the Finals on Wednesday, Walman assisted on one of the Oilers’ goals as they beat the Panthers in overtime. He’s also an NHL-certified “Good guy.”

Hyman, who had surgery to repair a dislocated wrist injury in the Conference Finals, tallied 44 points for the Oilers this season — a solid number that was also a step back from his previous two seasons.

How historic would a Jewish Stanley Cup champion be? We called up the expert, the Jewish Baseball Museum’s Bob Wechsler (who is also a maven about other sports) to find out.

It’s a Jewish question, so naturally there were multiple correct answers.

David Warsofsky was a member of the repeat champion Pittsburgh Penguins in 2015-16 and 2016-17, but only appeared in 19 regular season games across those two seasons, and no playoff games. Mike Hartman of the Rangers played 35 games in 1993-94 but did not appear in the playoffs.

But the last player to actually play in the Finals and win? That would be Mathieu Schneider with Montreal in 1992-93.

Jeff Halpern won it as an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019-20 and 2020-21. Cecil Hart, after whom the league’s MVP award is named, coached the champion Montreal Canadiens in 1929-30 and 1930-31. And Sam Rothschild (1926 Montreal Maroons), Alex Levinsky (1932 Toronto, 1938 Chicago) and Larry Zeidel (1953 Detroit) also won the Stanley Cup as players.

Watch Jake Walman and the Edmonton Oilers host the Florida Panthers in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals tonight June 6 at 6 p.m. (MT)  The Oilers lead 1-0. Games 3 and 4 will be held in Florida on June 9 and June 11. 

 Half Time Report

Swimmer Claire Weinstein won the 200-meter freestyle at the USA Swimming national championship on Wednesday, beating all-time great Katie Ledecky and world record-holder Torri Huske. With the win, Weinstein, an incoming freshman at UC Berkeley, earned a berth in the 2025 World Championships next month — all at age 18.

BLUE (AND WHITE) CHIPS. Fresh off its EuroCup championship in April, the Israeli basketball team Hapoel Tel Aviv reportedly has its sights set on one of the NBA’s biggest stars. According to European basketball reporter Nemanja Žorič, the team has reached out to nine-time All-Star and former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook, and “are planning to make him an offer with a salary never seen before in European basketball.”

SUCCESSION PLAN IN CHI-TOWN. The Chicago White Sox announced a new agreement on Thursday allowing team owner Jerry Reinsdorf, 89, to maintain control over the historically feckless franchise at least through 2029, after which point he will have the option to sell a controlling stake to Justin Ishbia. Ishbia and his brother Mat, who own the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, bought a stake in the White Sox in 2021.

SPEAKING OUT. Former World Series champion infielder Kevin Youkilis has been increasingly vocal in his support for Israel since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, which came just months after he coached for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic for the first time. This week, Youkilis went on Fox News to discuss the subsequent rise in antisemitism in the United States and the response from politicians such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whom he has accused of “virtue signaling.”

STAYING PUT. The Professional Women’s Hockey League is holding its expansion draft on Monday, as new teams in Seattle and Vancouver are set to join the fray. Each of the existing teams chose three players to protect from the draft and this week’s signing period, and the Boston Fleet unsurprisingly chose to keep star goaltender Aerin Frankel, nicknamed the “Green Monster,” who is a finalist for PWHL Goaltender of the Year.

PILLAR FALLS. The Texas Rangers released outfielder Kevin Pillar last week, making the 13-year veteran a free agent. Pillar hit .209 with no home runs in 20 games with Texas. And the Miami Marlins sent Matt Mervis back to Triple-A after the first baseman struggled out of the gate this season. Mervis, a Team Israel alum, hit .175 with 50 strikeouts and only 21 hits through 42 games.

VOTE EARLY AND OFTEN. Voting for the MLB All-Star Game is officially open, and five Jewish players are on the ballot: Rowdy Tellez, Alex Bregman, Harrison Bader, Joc Pederson and Spencer Horwitz. Fans can vote up to five times a day for position players, including a write-in option. While fans don’t vote for pitchers or reserves, it’s looking good for Yankees ace Max Fried and Colorado Rockies reliever Jake Bird,  both of whom appear poised to be chosen for the Midsummer Classic.

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Over in the NBA, the Finals don’t offer much in the way of Jewish intrigue. But if this newsletter has one job, it’s to find the Jewish angle.

So we looked to the owners. The Oklahoma City Thunder were established in 1967 as the Seattle SuperSonics. The franchise was co-founded by Sam Schulman and Eugene Klein. And Starbucks magnate Howard Schultz briefly owned the team in the 2000s.

The Indiana Pacers are owned by 90-year-old real estate developer Herb Simon. He’s owned the team since 1983, and also co-owns the WNBA’s Indiana Fever.

But the best Jewish connection comes courtesy of Sacramento Kings star Domantas Sabonis, who is converting to Judaism, and who has links to both franchises.

Sabonis, who just welcomed his third child, played his rookie season with the Thunder in 2016-17 before being traded to the Pacers in exchange for then-superstar Paul George. In 2019, in turn, George was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who just won the MVP award with OKC.

Sabonis played parts of five seasons with the Pacers, earning his first two career All-Star selections. In February 2022, he was traded to the Kings in exchange for Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers’ current star.

So yes, each team’s best player has been, directly or indirectly, traded for Sabonis.