It’s not often you see intense faceoffs during a ceremonial puck drop -- like never -- but there isn’t always a financial gain to be had attached to them, either.
That was apparently the case on Thursday night in Philadelphia as the Flyers were hosting the Nashville Predators and honoring former Flyer and former Predator Scott Hartnell before the game.
Here’s the puck drop:
According to Dave Isaac of USA Today, Hartnell put both Preds captain Roman Josi and Flyers captain Claude Giroux -- both former teammates -- up to it, offering the winner of the draw $100.
Giroux got a little richer, it seems.
Hartnell was drafted by the Predators in the first round, sixth overall in 2000 and suited up in 498 games with the club, including finishing his career there last season.
Between his two stints in Nashville, he had stops in Columbus for three seasons and Philly for seven before that, where he played 517 games.
Hartnell seemed to have quite the day in his return to Philly, where he and the now infamous Gritty befriended one another.
Did @GrittyNHL and @Hartsy43 just become best friends? https://t.co/GnxucCp72G
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) December 20, 2018
It’s not hard to see why these two get along so well.
Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck