The year began in spectacular fashion with the 2019 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic between the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks at Notre Dame Stadium on Jan. 1.
There were the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game festivities in San Jose, an outdoor game in Philadelphia, and the stunning worst-to-first run by the Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues.
The start of the 2019-20 season saw NHL hockey played outdoors in Regina, Saskatchewan, and indoors across Europe, including regular-season games in Prague, Czech Republic and Stockholm, Sweden.
It was a year that won’t soon be forgotten.
Here are the favorite hockey moments of 2019 from members of the NHL.com staff:
Amalie Benjamin, staff writer
No one believed Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara would play Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Bruins captain had a facial injury, likely a broken jaw, and it was doubtful he could play with that. But doctors gave him the green light and Chara, never one to shy away from a challenge, was in the lineup, despite fractures that needed two plates, some wires and screws to hold it all together. It led to an unbelievable ovation that night from the TD Garden crowd, which showed its appreciation for the lengths Chara went for his team and his teammates. Even though the Bruins wouldn’t win the Cup, that moment stuck with me.
Tim Campbell, staff writer
So many of the best moments each year take place in the presence of the Stanley Cup. One happened in Calahoo, Alberta on July 2, when the Cup paraded down Range Road 275 in the tiny hamlet west of Edmonton. The guest of honor was St. Louis Blues coach Craig Berube, who brought the Cup back to his hometown, keeping a longstanding promise. More than 2,000 family, friends and fans flooded into the community, which has a population of 85, lining up at Calahoo Arena to meet Berube and have pictures taken with the Cup.
Nick Cotsonika, columnist
The best moment of 2019 involved Laila Anderson, the 11-year-old battling a rare disease who became part of her beloved St. Louis Blues. You could choose, say, when she found out she was going to Boston to see the Blues play in the Stanley Cup Final, or when she received her own Stanley Cup ring. But for me, it was when she was on the ice in the aftermath of the Blues’ Game 7 win in Boston. Defenseman Colton Parayko helped her hold the Stanley Cup aloft, then grabbed it and lifted it above their heads with a joyous howl. Laila will remember that forever. And so will we.
My favorite hockey moment of 2019 was watching Colombia and Jamaica play for the Amerigol LATAM Cup championship at the Florida Panthers practice facility in September. The game was as great as the Jamaican meat patties sold by a food truck outside the rink. The talent on the ice was good, and the people who packed the stands brought an enthusiastic soccer vibe. And you couldn’t have written a better script for the game. Colombia tied it 2-2 late in the third period, and after overtime couldn’t decide it, Jamaica won in a shootout.
Tom Gulitti, staff writer
My favorite memory of 2019 was the scene at PNC Arena after the Carolina Hurricanes completed a sweep of the New York Islanders with a 5-2 win in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Second Round on May 3. The Hurricanes and their fans had waited a decade for a moment like this. Although the Hurricanes, who had last been in the playoffs in 2009, went on to get swept by the Bruins in the Eastern Conference Final, they established a winning foundation they are building on this season, with an eye on taking the next step in the 2020 playoffs.
Mike G. Morreale, staff writer
One of the best hockey moments for me this year was witnessing Jack Hughes and Cole Caufield each establish a record on the same play. It was during the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 team’s 12-4 win against Green Bay of the United States Hockey League at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan, on March 15. Caufield set the program record for goals with an assist from Hughes, that gave him its points record. Hughes, who would go on to be chosen by the New Jersey Devils with the No. 1 pick of the 2019 NHL Draft, had five assists in the game and finished his NTDP career with 228 points to pass Arizona Coyotes forward Clayton Keller (189 points, 2014-16). Caufield, selected No. 15 by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2019 Draft, scored six goals on 10 shots that day and finished his NTDP career with 126 goals to pass Coyotes forward Phil Kessel (104 goals, 2003-05).
My favorite moment of 2019 was covering the Stanley Cup championship parade for the Blues. Getting to walk the route was a treat. I talked to fans who were grateful for all those World Series titles the St. Louis Cardinals have won, but equally were thrilled to see the Blues win their first Cup. The Blues players did their part, getting out of cars or truck beds to wave Blues flags and slap hands with the hundreds of thousands of fans along the route. It was a great day for the city of St. Louis.
Bill Price, Editor-in-Chief
Nick stole my thunder a bit here. I was standing nearby when Parayko handed the Cup to Anderson after Game 7, and I will never forget the pure joy on each of their faces. Aside from that, the most memorable moment of the year for me involved Gritty, of course. Though the Philadelphia Flyers mascot made his debut in 2018, his coming-out party occurred at the Stadium Series game between the Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins at Lincoln Financial Field on Feb. 23. Gritty started the show by standing atop the stadium with a light-up LED suit. He then zip-lined down to the field and climbed steps replicating those at the Philadelphia Museum of Art to the theme song from the movie “Rocky.” That wasn’t all. Midway through the game, wearing nothing but his helmet and his perpetual smile, he streaked across the field, chased by his personal security people. Gritty, who never disappoints, made what already was an incredible night in Philadelphia, that much more memorable.
Dan Rosen, senior writer
My first thought went to Gritty at the Stadium Series game in Philadelphia. The laughs we had watching his antics. It was fun. It’s supposed to be fun. But Bill stole it. So my next thought went to my time in Columbus during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, specifically after the Blue Jackets lost Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Bruins. The season was over and yet the Blue Jackets stayed on the ice to salute the fans, who stood and roared for their team, chanting “CBJ, CBJ, CBJ.” Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky waved good-bye. It was sad. It was happy. It was the end. But it was a sign of how a great hockey market came together. It made me appreciate Columbus.
To my pleasant surprise, Hall of Fame goalie Glenn Hall agreed to live-tweet Game 3 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final from his farm house in Stony Plain, Alberta on June 1. I sat and watched the game with Hall, the first player in St. Louis Blues history, and his son, Pat. Glenn, who would turn 88 on Oct. 3, was observant and witty on my Twitter account, embracing the spirit of social media with 17 tweets from the sofa in his den, hundreds of likes and retweets still coming well past midnight. That his Blues loss 7-2 to the Boston Bruins did little to dull his enthusiasm as he bantered online through my phone. Glenn’s final tweet: “Thanks to all you fans for writing tonight and remembering me. All these years later, I’m humbled.”
Mike Zeisberger, staff writer
To have a Game 7 in any Stanley Cup Playoff series is dramatic enough, but for it to go to double-overtime? As I told esteemed colleague Tracey Myers in the Enterprise Center press box the night of May 7, it doesn’t get much better than that. You want edge-of-your seat theatre? How’s this? The Blues defeat the Dallas Stars 2-1 in the Western Conference Second Round. The winning goal was scored by St. Louis native Patrick Maroon, who immediately pointed to his 10-year-old son, Anthony, in the stands. “I’ve taught him things,” Anthony told us while hugging his dad afterward in the Blues dressing room, which also included the inspirational Laila Anderson and actor Jon Hamm. Down the hall in the family room, Maroon’s mother, Patti, pulled out a prayer card dedicated to St. Anthony in honor of her grandson. “I kept it in my bra for the whole game for luck,” she said. It worked. Cool scene. Cool experience. Cool moment.
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers signed defenceman Travis Dermott to a professional tryout on Friday.
Dermott, a 27-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., produced two goals, five assists and 26 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season.
The six-foot, 202-pound blueliner has also played for the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto drafted him in the second round, 34th overall, of the 2015 NHL draft.
Over seven NHL seasons, Dermott has 16 goals and 46 assists in 329 games while averaging 16:03 in ice time.
Before the NHL, Dermott played two seasons with Oilers captain Connor McDavid for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. The team was coached by current Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, led the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan vote her first year on the ballot — an important part to possible selection to the hall’s next class.
The organization released the voting results on Friday. American doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan finished second with Canada’s Daniel Nestor third.
The Hall of Fame said tens of thousands of fans from 120 countries cast ballots. Fan voting is one of two steps in the hall’s selection process. The second is an official group of journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers from the sport who vote on the ballot for the hall’s class of 2025.
“I am incredibly grateful to the fans all around the world who supported me during the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan votes,” Sharapova said in a statement. “It is a tremendous honor to be considered for the Hall of Fame, and having the fans’ support makes it all the more special.”
Sharapova became the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the world. She won Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. She also won the French Open twice, in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova was also part of Russia’s championship Fed Cup team in 2008 and won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012.
To make the hall, candidates must receive 75% or higher on combined results of the official voting group and additional percentage from the fan vote. Sharapova will have an additional three percentage points from winning the fan vote.
The Bryans, who won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, will have two additional percentage points and Nestor, who won eight Grand Slam doubles titles, will get one extra percentage point.
The hall’s next class will be announced late next month.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said Friday.
Gaudreau, 31, and brother Matthew, 29, were killed in Carneys Point, New Jersey, on Aug. 29, the evening before they were set to serve as groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding.
The driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins of nearby Woodstown, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. At a virtual court hearing Friday, a judge ordered that he be held for trial after prosecutors described a history of alleged road rage and aggressive driving.
“’You were probably driving like a nut like I always tell you you do. And you don’t listen to me, instead you just yell at me,’” his wife told Higgins when he called her from jail after his arrest, according to First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn of Salem County.
The defense described Higgins as a married father and law-abiding citizen before the crash.
“He’s an empathetic individual and he’s a loving father of two daughters,” said defense lawyer Matthew Portella. “He’s a good person and he made a horrible decision that night.”
Higgins told police he had five or six beers that day and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said. A prosecutor on Friday said he had been drinking at home after finishing a work call at about 3 p.m., and having an upsetting conversation with his mother about a family matter.
He then had a two-hour phone call with a friend while he drove around in his Jeep with an open container, Flynn said. He had been driving aggressively behind a sedan going just above the 50 mph speed limit, sometimes tailgating, the female driver told police.
When she and the vehicle ahead of her slowed down and veered left to go around the cyclists, Higgins sped up and veered right, striking the Gaudreas, the two other drivers told police.
“He indicated he didn’t even see them,” said Superior Court Judge Michael J. Silvanio, who said Higgins’ admitted “impatience” caused two deaths.
Higgins faces up to 20 years, a sentence that the judge said made him a flight risk.
Higgins has a master’s degree, works in finance for an addiction treatment company, and served in combat in Iraq, his lawyers said. However, his wife said he had been drinking regularly since working from home, Flynn said.
Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, $68 million deal in 2022. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.
Widows Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau described their husbands as attached at the hip throughout their lives. Both women are expecting, and both gave moving eulogies at the double funeral on Monday.
