Last week, I asked you guys to send in some of the best pictures you took from in and around Rexall Place as we bid farewell to the old barn that we all grew up in. As expected, you guys stepped up in a huge way and I was absolutely bombarded with dozens of pictures from over the years. With so many great pictures it was almost impossible to pare the entries down to only five finalists, but we made it happen (complete with coin tosses) and now the time has come to vote on the finalists. 

Before we get to the aforementioned finalists I want to thank everyone that took the time to submit an entry for this contest. There were so many great pictures that it made my job of picking five finalists almost impossible. I want you to know that if your picture didn’t make the cut it’s more so because the coin flip didn’t go your way as opposed to it not being good enough to qualify. That being said, I did catch a few of you guys trying to submit pictures that you Googled. As I mentioned before, I watch way too much Catfish for you guys to slip an obvious one past your ol’ pal Baggedmilk. 

At the end of the day we had to make a call and pick five finalists to go up for a vote, but there easily could have been 10 winners. Since there were so many great pictures I want to make sure that you guys get to see them all, so I put up a ‘Farewell Rexall Place’ album up on our Facebook page. Check the album out at your leisure and be sure to tag and share the pictures as you see fit. 

What’s not to like about this picture? In this entry, the Brothers Dakin checked off a couple boxes by A) posing with Joey Moss, and B) doing it in a classic NationGear tee. I remember a time around these parts when we would often Squee for Eberle, but these days I’m happy to Squee for Joey. All in all this is a great entry and a salute to the greatest Oiler of all time — Joey Moss. 

I’m sure you’ve all seen this friendly terrifying looking horse man before. This guy has been used in a bunch of Nation videos as well as highlight packages for pretty much every sports network. As it turns out, the man behind the horse is a guy named Trevor that got thrown in Rexall jail shortly after these pictures were taken. As it turns out, when you lead your horse to beer he will continue to drink until Rexall security throws him behind bars. 

I’m super into this picture. This entry was submitted by Brad who happened to win a tour of the press box and snapped some really cool pictures while he had the chance. Brad actually took several cool pictures from his trip around the old barn so be sure to check those out on our Facebook page when you get a chance. The Oilers may not have needed the goal button as much as we would have hoped this year, but it’s still cool to know that such a button exists. 

According to history books, seeing championship wins on Rexall ice used to happen with some regularity. I mean, it was before my time but I’ve been told it’s true. In this entry, Jason was able to capture some of the celebration that was the 2012 WHL Championship. The Oil Kings didn’t win the Memorial Cup that year, but they did lay the foundation for a Memorial Cup Championship run two years later.

Since we’re saying goodbye to the house that Gretzky built it seems fitting to close out the contest with a picture of a Cup win from the glory days. This submission came in from Jason who included a bunch of other great pictures from the 80s. I think my favourite part about Jason’s entries were that he also sent me a picture of the photo album that all of his pictures came from. For you kids out there, I just wanted to remind you that pictures were something that people used to actually print and keep in albums. 

As a quick reminder of what is at stake for our finalists:

Remember, voting is your Citizen’s duty and this is not to be taken lightly. As always, the voting will take place in the pollz and will continue on until Sunday night at 11:59pm or until Monday morning when I remember that I hadn’t stopped the poll. 

I want to thank Print Machine, Oodle Noodle, and the Pint for putting up the prizes for this contest. Winners will be selected through the power of pollz, as per tradition. From there, I’ll reach out to the winners via email, and shower them with praise and Internet glory.