Fans cheer as the Edmonton Oilers take on the Los Angeles Kings during NHL Stanley Cup first round playoff action in Edmonton on Monday April 17, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
EDMONTON – NHL players’ phones start chiming and pinging like casinos when the playoffs start.
Moms, dads, siblings, cousins, minor hockey teammates, high-school classmates and that guy who fixed the garage door once are all excited someone they know will contend for a Stanley Cup.
In the digital age, they have the means to constantly convey that enthusiasm via direct messages or social-media messaging.
Many players filter or prioritize, or they’d spend every minute off the ice on their phones.
“My phone is on do not disturb,” Oilers defenceman Vincent Desharnais said. “I’ll respond to my close family, my brother, my really close friends. The rest of them, I’ll take a few minutes here and there or sometimes wait until after the game.”
The six-foot-six defenceman woke up to a phone full of messages before the opening game of Edmonton’s first-round series with the Los Angeles Kings.
“I really appreciate people reaching out,” Desharnais said. “Even the fans. Fans have been crazy. They’ve been sending me pump-up videos on Instagram. It’s really cool.
“(You) try to be on the phone as least as possible. It’s really cool, but you have to be able to put it away for a couple hours and just focus on this right now.”
“This” is the high stakes and narrow margins of NHL playoffs, which rewards players who can concentrate and conserve their off-ice energy after a long regular season.
Kings forward Quinton Byfield puts the clamps on to-and-fro texting.
“I don’t answer many. Only immediate family I really talk to,” Byfield said. “You have people texting you that you haven’t talk to in so long saying ‘good game, good luck,’ so only my mom, dad and three buddies back home.”
For Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner appearing in his first NHL playoff series, and in his hometown no less, boundaries are a must.
“I’ve had conversations with people where they know what time in the day that I kind of stop looking at my phone,” Skinner said.
“At a certain time you’re just getting ready for the game, right? So you’re just in your zone and doing your own thing and trying to prepare for the game.
“So people know that and if they don’t, I’m not shy to tell anyone.”
At just 23, Oilers forward Ryan McLeod is experiencing playoff mania for a second time after Edmonton reached the Western Conference final last year.
“It’s the toughest part, I think of playoffs, is honestly balancing like all the friends who want to fly in or your family want to come in,” McLeod said.
“It’s just kind of, turn your phone off a bit more than you normally would because it’s pretty crazy.
“You get all the good-luck playoff texts, or ‘how do I come by game-day tickets?’ It’s like ‘sure, I’d love you to come, but tickets aren’t free.”
Winnipeg forward Nino Niederreiter says messages requesting tickets ramped up once the Jets’ first-round series with the Vegas Golden Knights began.
“That’s something you as a player, you have to almost distance yourself from a little bit because it’s my time and I want to enjoy that ride,” said the 30-year-old Swiss winger.
“You’ve got to make sure you put yourself first and you’ve got to enjoy it. You can’t take care of everyone. But at the same time, you’ve got to make sure you don’t just think just about hockey.”
Oilers defenceman Brett Kulak, also from Edmonton, says playoffs are a time to share the joy.
“So many people supported you to get to this point. Everyone is excited and likes to be a part of it,” he said. “You want to make as many people part of it as possible.”
Toronto Maple Leafs centre Alex Kerfoot says his relationships are business as usual in the post-season.
“No, I don’t ice my family for two weeks or two months – whatever it is,” Kerfoot said. “My parents are in town for the games, so I see them now just as I would during the year if they come in.
“You’re hyper-focused on what you’re doing, but for me, I don’t change things up too much.”
Brevity in communication is Edmonton defenceman Cody Ceci’s policy.
“There’s definitely more messages, but you just try and deal with it,” he said. “I usually just try and keep the conversations pretty quick.
“At this point of my career, they understand a little better too that it’s such an important time of year. They tend not to bug me too much. We just had a baby, so as far as visitors go, everyone kind of knows it’s off-limits anyway.”
His teammate Evander Kane’s strategy for managing a phone that blows up with messages is simple.
“The best way to deal with that, sometimes just don’t respond,” Kane said.
– With files from Joshua Clipperton in Toronto and Gregory Strong in Las Vegas.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2023.
