NHL wouldn't let Johnny Gaudreau light stick on fire at skills competition
Calgary Flames rookie Johnny Gaudreau wanted to light his stick on fire during the skills competition on Saturday night. The NHL frowned on that idea.
By
Adam Gretz
•
1 min read
One of the better moments during the NHL's breakaway challenge on Saturday night in Columbus was Brian Elliott's selfie during a shot attempt by his teammate, Vladimir Tarasenko.
Columbus' Ryan Johansen ended up winning the event in a fan vote thanks to his efforts that saw him remove his Blue Jackets jersey to reveal an Ohio State jersey, and then a later attempt that featured seven of his teammates in a Flying V formation.
But whatever went into those attempts, nothing was going to compare to whatever it was Flames rookie forward Johnny Gaudreau had planned, which would have involved him lighting his stick on fire.
The NHL, though, quickly extinguished that idea.
Since he said it in an interview I can definitely say...
— Patrick Burke (@BurkieYCP) January 25, 2015
The most interesting part of my day by far was @johngaudreau03 asking me if he could light his stick on fire. #PlayerSafety
— Patrick Burke (@BurkieYCP) January 25, 2015
Unfortunately I had to be Director of Funland Security on that one after every attorney in our offices had simultaneous heart attacks.
— Patrick Burke (@BurkieYCP) January 25, 2015
And yes that was going to stay our secret until he told NHLN
— Patrick Burke (@BurkieYCP) January 25, 2015
Certainly understandable from a league perspective. But the lesson here, of course, is never ask for permission.
Gaudreau, currently playing in his rookie season for the Flames, was initially invited to Columbus, along with several other rookies, to participate in Saturday's skills competition and ended up getting added to the game for Sunday after injuries to Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Tyler Johnson.
