Wouldn't it be entertaining to see goalie Henrik Lundqvist play once a season with “King Henrik” on the back of his New York Rangers jersey? Shouldn’t Zdeno Chara be able to wear a “Z” on his back once a year?
On one day a year, shouldn’t a member of the Detroit Red Wings be able to salute Gordie Howe’s memory with a photograph display on his helmet?
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“I think it would be pretty fun if the NHL did something like that,” Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski said. “Just gets more personality in the game. I don’t think the world outside of hockey sees enough of our personality and who we are.”
Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association has already embraced this concept, last August debuting "Players Weekend" when players were allowed to don unique uniforms and have their nicknames, rather than their last names, on the back. During batting practice and postgame interviews, players could also wear t-shirts highlighting their charities or causes.
The NFL also has the "My Cause, My Cleats" program in Week 13 of its season when players are allowed to show their activism with unique cleat designs.
“I think hockey could use a little bit of flavor like that,” Winnipeg Jets winger Blake Wheeler said. “We are so stuck on being good guys, and being about the team that sometimes we lose a little. That kind of stuff is cool nowadays.
"The NBA has kind of struck on that. Baseball. Football has the cleats. I think fans love that kind of stuff – getting to know the players’ personalities and what they are into outside of hockey. It’s compelling.”
Making uniforms unique, even for a day, wouldn’t work in the NHL, but players could put their nicknames on their backs and give helmets a creative spin.
“It’s straightforward in hockey, which is a good thing,” Werenski said. “But I think at the same time it’s nice to have some of your personality. It would be pretty cool if we did that.”
Werenski said his teammates call him “Big Z” and believes he would put that on his back if the NHL ever allowed nicknames. Wheeler said he’s called “Wheels” and that was his best guess for what would go on the back of his.
Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin says he favors ideas “that spice it up a little bit.”
“But I would need a week to think about what I would do,” he said.
Currently, there’s no discussion about bringing this idea to the NHL.
“I thought (baseball’s idea) was creative. It caught my attention,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said. “But I don’t think it was anything that piqued our interest in terms of something that we would do.”
Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban, who doesn’t need a special weekend to let his personality show, said the NHL already allows some individuality.
“Goaltenders are allowed to come up with their own pads, their own helmet paintings,” Subban said. “My brother (Malcolm) is a goalie (in Vegas). I always look forward to seeing what he’s putting on his helmet. But as far as players go, I probably wouldn’t want to see guys spray paint a helmet. I kind of like it the way it is. In hockey, to be an individualist is important, but winning is based on the whole team.”
Some players see it as an NHL tradition to discourage individuality in the name of identifying only as a team. Some wouldn’t want to change for a weekend, or even a game.
“It’s good the way it is,” Oilers star Connor McDavid said. “It’s been that way for 100 years and we should just leave it that way.”
Contributing: Jimmy Hascup
![The Pacific Division All-Stars beat the Atlantic Division]()
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2 of 41![Vancouver Canucks rookie Brock Boeser put the Pacific]()
3 of 41![With two goals and an assist during the day, forward]()
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7 of 41![Brian Boyle's shot for the Metropolitan Division is]()
8 of 41![Metropolitan Division forwards Sidney Crosby, left,]()
9 of 41![Central Division goalie Pekka Rinne made several solid]()
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15 of 41![Young hockey fan Lily Koharski, 2, of Tampa, watches]()
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19 of 41![Central Division forward Tyler Seguin (91) of the Dallas]()
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24 of 41![Atlantic Division defenseman Mike Green (25) of the]()
25 of 41![Atlantic Division forward Nikita Kucherov (86) of the]()
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32 of 41![Recording artist Flo Rida performs prior to the 2018]()
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35 of 41![NHL mascots Louie of the St. Louis Blues and Chance]()
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