Columnist. Trying to capture the spirit of the thing.
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Sexual orientation is not a choice.
I didn’t choose to be straight. I didn’t choose this “lifestyle.” I never had to think about it.
Gay people don’t choose to be gay, but they often have to choose whether to be themselves.
Pride Nights are supposed to make that easier.
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In 1999, before “The Hangover” and the Golden Knights, Homer Simpson and Ned Flanders had the Stanley Cup in Vegas.
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I scammed my way to the top of the main TV tower. (Hey, I’m working on a story!) This is will be the perspective of the main game camera. #NHLOutdoors
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There is a guy on a jet ski wearing a @DetroitRedWings jersey and flying a Red Wings flag. #NHLOutdoors
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Awesome entrance by the Dallas Stars, who went as a team to Lucchese on Dec. 12 to get done up.
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Blue Jackets preparing for an emotional home opener. Guy Gaudreau is on the ice for the morning skate.
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The Coyotes and Kings are underway in Melbourne, Australia. The NHL is playing in the Southern Hemisphere for the first time. The League has reached its fourth continent.
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Dwyane Wade wearing a Utah Hockey Club hat at the player arrivals. He’s a minority owner of the Utah Jazz and the Utah Hockey Club.
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The picture doesn’t do it justice, but as the Golden Knights practice, the rainbow is still there on Lake Tahoe. #NHLOutdoors
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Cale Makar said he has been reading Nicklas Lidstrom's book, "The Pursuit of Perfection."
Uh-oh.
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The Kraken unveil the 1917 Stanley Cup banner won by the Seattle Metropolitans of the PCHA.
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This is great. Mike Huff is the Panthers vice president of player engagement. He handled logistical issues amid heavy rain and travel delays Wednesday.
It takes an organization 🤝
Our Game 3 puck goes to our VP of Player Engagement Mike Huff, who got us to Edmonton safely and ready to go.
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Rantanen to @TSN_Sports: "I’ve played against Dallas a lot. I know they have a good team. I know the city well enough and everything there, and I’ve only heard good things about the organization and everything, so at the end of the day, it was easy. Easy decision at that point."
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Gretzky scored 894 goals in 1,487 games. Ovechkin has scored 895 in exactly 1,487 games. Incredible.
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The Blackhawks took the “L” train to Wrigley Field, getting off at the Addison stop and walking down Sheffield into the stadium.
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Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said today he apologized to the Coyotes for including them in his comments after Game 5 of the Western Conference Final. "It was disrespectful," he said. "It was a dumb thing to say about puck management, to bring another team in."
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In the Red Wings dressing room, Vladislav Namestnikov sits directly across from a photo of his uncle, Slava Kozlov. "Every time I show up to the rink, it's like, oh, my god, you know, dream come true, so I'm ready to get started. I'm ready to give it my all for the Red Wings."
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Pat Maroon is at the podium in Stockholm after scoring twice for the Lightning, and on his left wrist is a blue band that says “LAILA STRONG.”
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Mourners light candles and watch a slide show of Gaudreau family photos during a 13:21 moment of silence. Johnny wore No. 13. Matthew wore No. 21.
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.@GoldenKnights hooked her up for Game 5 tonight. She said she cried and kept checking her phone to make sure the tickets were still there. (1)
My Uber driver has never been to a VGK game, but she goes to lots of practices and knows the team well. “I didn’t know what I was missing until I found hockey,” she said. Wish I could tell all these stories.
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Man, it’s something when the Stars score and tens of thousands of people chant, “Dallas! Stars! Dallas! Stars!”
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The Columbus Blue Jackets are in a playoff spot. Considering everything this team has gone through, they are the best story in the NHL.
Blue Jackets score 4 straight in 2nd, stay hot with win against Kraken ⤵️
nhl.com/news/seattle-kraken-…
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My Uber driver has never been to a VGK game, but she goes to lots of practices and knows the team well. “I didn’t know what I was missing until I found hockey,” she said. Wish I could tell all these stories.
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To understand the importance of a bilingual GM in Montreal, listen to Molson's press conference as an Anglophone. It's frustrating not to understand most of what is being said. Imagine being a Francophone fan of the Canadiens and not being able to understand the GM (or coach).
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Asked NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly about the Mike Babcock situation.
"We followed up with the club, and I know the Players’ Association has followed up directly with the players," Daly said.
(1)
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What a moment. The players arrive in black hoodies with the NHL shield and “UTAH EST. 2024.” Music playing. Kids cheering. Immediately, the players sign autographs for the kids. All smiles.
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It cannot be repeated enough: The Columbus Blue Jackets are the most inspiring story in the NHL, maybe in all of sports.
They showed why again Thursday, overcoming yet another injury, winning their third straight and setting up the Stadium Series.
nhl.com/news/columbus-blue-j…
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Logan Cooley: “This is probably the most excited I’ve ever been to play a hockey game.”
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Andreas Athanasiou and Mike Green are not warming up for the Red Wings. A team spokesman said it is asset management. No trade is necessarily imminent.
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Serious question: What else in sports is like Ovechkin’s one-timer from the left circle on the power play, where you know it’s coming but can’t stop it?
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Bettman receives applause when introduced. "Since you're all about to be hockey fans," he said, "you'll learn rather quickly I don't normally get that kind of reception."
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The Golden Knights have a DJ, cheerleaders and rally towels. For practice. On a Wednesday morning.
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NHL has concluded Protected and Available Lists WILL be made public and distributed to media simultaneously with distribution to teams.
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I’m back in Salt Lake City, where Utah’s new NHL team will give the former Arizona Coyotes a look at their new home today. When they get off the plane in about an hour, they will be greeted by youth hockey players and their parents. People are already lining up at the airport.
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It will be so cold at the Winter Classic that the NHL will have to heat the ice. Yes, the ice. That's just part of the extensive preparations for the weather to help fans, workers and players. nhl.com/news/nhl-preparing-f… via @NHLdotcom
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It’s raining as I pass T-Mobile Park on the way to the airport. Thankful we had perfect weather for the Winter Classic yesterday to have the retractable roof open — dry, in the 40s. I’ve done 24 NHL outdoor games. That was one of the best.
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Mike Babcock on Patrick Marleau coming to Toronto: "I think it’s going to be the fountain of youth for him."
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I ran into the fathers of Barclay Goodrow and Logan Couture at the airport — and ran into my favorite story in a long time. Game 7 through the fathers’ eyes. nhl.com/news/sharks-game-7-w… via @NHLdotcom
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Sean Monahan wears a black Johnny Gaudreau T-shirt as he speaks to the media. He signed with Columbus in large part to play with his former Calgary teammate.
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Carolina GM Eric Tulsky on Mikko Rantanen: "I think we have a great organization. I think we have a great coach. I think we have a great locker room. But it doesn’t fit for everyone, and it just didn’t feel like him to him, as far as I can tell. And that’s OK."
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On Blues broadcast, Darren Pang said Jay Bouwmeester was alert when he went into ambulance to the hospital. John Kelly said Bouwmeester's dad was at the game.
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Taylor Hall on free agency: "I’d say it’s pretty much all winning. I don’t think the money’s going to be what it was maybe before COVID or before the season, but that’s fine. I think we get paid a lot of money to play a game, and we’ll see what happens."
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Connor Bedard, 18, meeting with the media before his NHL debut and talking about going through his normal routine. The amazing thing is, for him, this is normal.
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I made a comment to Lou Lamoriello this morning about his three rookies. He paused and corrected me. "Seven."
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David Ayres is signing autographs in the concourse before the Hurricanes game. The line is long. The first person in line? A season-ticket holder who is also a kidney donor.
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The Columbus Blue Jackets are the most inspiring story in the NHL.
Maybe in all of sports.
Is there another team overcoming anything like Columbus is this season? nhl.com/news/columbus-in-pla…
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Jakub Vrana on media call just now: "The opportunity to play for the Red Wings is a lot different than in Washington. I get more ice time. My role has changed a little bit, and I’m looking forward just to prove what I can do and show my potential."
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Somebody on TSN just described Jets-Predators as a “high-tempo chess match with sledgehammers.”
Which is awesome.
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The Red Wings have the best rookie forward in the NHL right now. And the best rookie defenseman. And the best rookie goalie. nhl.com/news/detroit-riding-… via @NHLdotcom
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Ohio State won the national title in football. It's also won two of the past three national titles in women’s hockey. The women’s team is ranked No. 2, the men’s team No. 8. The Blue Jackets are in a playoff spot.
"This event comes at a great time." nhl.com/news/topic/nhl-stadi…
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The Vegas Golden Knights have become the first NHL, NBA or MLB team to sweep a best-of-seven in their first playoff series in their inaugural season, because of course.
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Context for VGK "Golden Misfits" thing: James Neal made it group chat name when collecting phone numbers in the beginning, for obvious reasons. Wives and girlfriends made T-shirts on their own. They've had fun with it all season.
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The Vegas Golden Knights have made the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season. Not only that, they are 12-3 and have closed out three straight series on the road. They just beat the Winnipeg Jets four times in a row.
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Maureen Campbell, a Flyers fan here for her bachelorette party, smashes the Penguins car.
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There is ice at Delta Center. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly have arrived for a press conference with Utah owners Ryan and Ashley Smith.
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In Dauphin, Manitoba, where today they honor the hometown boy who won the Stanley Cup because he got the Washington Capitals to play the ...
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"What was being reported by Paul Bissonette -- or at least his characterizations of what transpired -- isn’t consistent with what the players are reporting to the Players’ Association, including that none of them felt that the interactions were at all inappropriate or impromper."
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For the first time since the accident, the Humboldt Broncos are on the ice. Training camp has begun.
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Quinn Hughes: "I think the plan was to just see how my skate went today. I feel like I felt pretty good. I mean, the rules are the rules. I can’t play unless anyone else gets injured, and I obviously don’t want to see anyone get injured. So yeah, I think that’s where we’re at."
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Fans are chanting "U-S-A!" Apparently for their Russian goalie and two Canadian goal-scorers. ;)
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When Zach Werenski gets married in Columbus in July, he’ll have one hockey guy standing in the wedding: Dylan Larkin. The best friends have played together many times and skate together.
But don’t think they won’t compete against each other.
nhl.com/news/friends-dylan-l…
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