There’s a lot of nostalgia in the air for Saturday’s two alumni games. Most of that involves good-natured fun, but did we sense a little tension too?
As you can see in the video above, Kris Draper and Gary Roberts mixed it up a bit during the 2017 Centennial Classic’s alumni game. They didn’t come to blows, but it was still a pretty entertaining sight.
There were at least some bad feelings involved:
Draper said it was real animosity out there... wonder if we'll ever have an alumni game fight. https://t.co/jWlZnLMJWR
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) December 31, 2016
But, yeah, most of the other moments were jovial:
Sliding into the Alumni game like...#CentennialClassic pic.twitter.com/Da6AEe7tBn
— NHL (@NHL) December 31, 2016
Tensions are high in the #CentennialClassic Alumni Game. #NHL100 pic.twitter.com/L9ROUDJg3G
— NHL (@NHL) December 31, 2016
Draper scored the game-winning goal in a 4-3 win for the Detroit Red Wings over the Toronto Maple Leafs, so you could say that he got the last laugh. (Lanny McDonald just happened to get the best laugh.)
There was at least one great athletic feat mixed into the proceedings:
Overall it seems like the fans were the biggest winners, so the event was quite the success.
#ForTheFans https://t.co/6gmkRnI2GC
— NHL (@NHL) December 31, 2016
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NHL.com also has a nice piece about young Maple Leafs meeting old icons. Former Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues players are engaging in an alumni game of their own today, so it’s quite a way for many fans to close out 2016.