Bye weeks can be a blessing and a curse for teams.
For the Edmonton Elks, they hope it can be the former Monday afternoon when they square up with the Calgary Stampeders for the Labour Day Classic. After dredging through 10 straight weeks, the Elks had a long bye week, having last played on Aug. 21, when they beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 22-19.
Now, it’ll be imperative they come out sharp against a fledgling Stampeders team that still boasts a potent offence.
“I think it’s easy to step out, (but) it’s harder to get back into a rhythm, and that’s usually the thing I’ve noticed coming off bye weeks,” said Elks quarterback Cody Fjardo. “People talk about, ‘Rest, rest, rest’, and that’s great, but also sometimes you lose some momentum when you have these bye weeks, and we had some great momentum.
“So I just told the guys, we’ve got to get back into rhythm, back into a routine of things as quickly as possible, because Labour Day is a different beast. A Labour Day game is as close as you’re going to get to a regular season playoff game, so we’ve got to make sure we’re on our Ps and Qs and we continue to get into that rhythm that we went into the bye week with.”
While the Stampeders sit at the bottom of the West Division with a 5-6 record, their offence comes in as the league best, averaging 36.9 points per game, in thanks to a strong rushing attack averaging 114.3 rushing yards per game, the second best rate in the CFL.
“I’m expecting them to bring everything they’ve got,” Elks defensive lineman Malik Carney said. “They’re fighting for positioning in the playoffs, and our job is to not let that happen. So I’m expecting an intense battle, a physical battle, and a great game.”
Edmonton Elks @ Calgary Stampeders
- Date: Monday, Sept. 7, 2026
- Kickoff: 4:00 p.m. MT
- Location: Calgary, Alta.
- Venue: McMahom Stadium
- Watch: TSN
- Weather at kickoff via Environment Canada: 13 degrees and showers. Wind blowing North at 20 km/h, gusts up to 40 km/h.
FIELD GOALS
Elks OL Coulter Woodmansey: “It is so fun, so cool getting to go down to Calgary for Labour Day and getting to be part of this rivalry. It is so exciting, but I’m not big into making any game bigger than it needs to be. I’m going in there to do my job one play at a time.”
Elks HC Mark Kilam: “This game means a lot to a lot of people. For us, it’s a divisional game, which is important. It’s the next game on our schedule, which is important, and Calgary standing in our way.”
Stamps HC and GM Dave Dickinson: “If you open up a box score, which nobody does any more, but if you actually do, and you just look at the turnover ratio, usually that’s going to tell you who won the game. I’ve always said it’s the most important stat in sports. Hasn’t always held true for us this year, but I think it’s most important.”
DEPTH CHARTS
Elks
The Elks are going to be down two weapons in the Classic, as running back and return man Javon Leake and rookie receiver T.J. Luther have both been placed on the six-game injured list. Running back Shunderrick Powell will handle return duties in Leake’s absence, while receiver Joe Robustelli will make his debut replacing Luther.
Edmonton will get two players back from injury: offensive lineman Coulter Woodmansey, who has been out since being injured in the first game of the season, will slot in at right guard, while safety Royce Metchie returns from a hamstring injury to backup.
Stampeders
The Stamps will get back quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. after missing a game due to ahead injury, clearing concussion protocol and return to the starting job. Calgary will be without a pair of defensive linemen due to ankle injuries, as Charlies Wiley and Elijah Hills were both added to the six-game injured list.
