Thanks, Canada: Apparently You're Not Even Allowed To Do Any Pregame Shenanigans In The NHL Anymore
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I'm pretty sure hockey warmups are exclusively for shenanigans. It's not like hitting the range before a round of golf to get your swing dialed in. It's not like taking BP before a baseball game just so you can see the ball a few times.
Hockey warmups are for getting out there without your helmet on, letting the hair loose in the wind, ripping a few laps, firing the puck off the glass a few times, and then fucking with the opposing team.
But the NHL is getting softer these days. The woke mind virus has taken ahold of the league and now you're not even allowed to do any sort of shenanigans before a massive playoff game. Even the most innocent and mundane form of shenanigans like firing a couple pucks at the opposing goalie.
Here's the most important piece of the puzzle:
These are guys who won a Cup together last year with the Panthers. These are guys who played together in the Flyers' system from 2014-17. They've been boys for 10 years at this point. This is just guys being dudes. Just a couple of pals fucking around. But here comes the big bad NHL having to flex their dick in front of everyone and try to put an end to this heinous act of violence.
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Ratings are in the toilet right now for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The NHL can't get people to give a shit about hockey right now if they tried. They had the perfect opportunity to pounce on the mayhem of the 4 Nations Faceoff, and they just let the moment pass. Instead of leaning into what everybody clearly wants to see, they are investigating two buddies fucking around with each other during warmups before a playoff game. Great job, Canada. You have successfully made sure that hockey will never be anything besides the 4th most popular of the major sports.
P.S. -- Never forget the pregame brawl between the Flyers and Canadiens in the 1987 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Back when men were allowed to be men.