The Carolina Hurricanes’ Storm Surge celebration has been a topic of controversy all season, and especially recently as it picks up traction in the media. If you want, you can also treat it as a referendum on fun in hockey, and what is and isn’t respectful of the game.
We definitely like some fun in our sport, and in an appearance on Raleigh-based WRAL radio, Gary Bettman echoed a similar sentiment. He offered a nuance defense of the Storm Surge, saying that ultimately, it’s for the fans.
"I think the Storm Surge is fun. I'm very friendly with and respect Don Cherry. We can agree to disagree on things, and this would be one of them. I spoke to a number of the players this morning and saw them when we got here, and I asked them, how did they feel about it, and they love it. I was asking, where did they get the ideas, and we talked about that. So, if you start with the premise that the players like it and the fans like it, then it's all good.
... I've heard from former hockey people, retired hockey people, who have concerns about whether it is respectful of the game, but the game's about fun. It's about bringing people together. It's about having an entertaining night or afternoon. It's about distractions from the every day things that are going on that aren't as upbeat as a hockey game. And so, if the fans love it, and it's clear they do, and the players love doing it, then why is anybody complaining?
... When you think about it, when the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim came into existence, people were saying, oh, how could you have a team in Southern California and name it after a movie, and on opening night have Wild Wing propel from the rafters? Or, when we went to Nashville, how could you go to Music City and have country music concerts all the time? Or, even Las Vegas, look at the show they put on. You know, our teams are really good at reflecting the markets that they're in and what their fans want in terms of their connection to our game, and this is yet another example."
Hey! That all sounds like a very reasonable take from the NHL commissioner. You can trace a line through this Storm Surge controversy to some of the other instances in which hockey players have tried to be a little more easy-going this year — appearances in high-fashion magazines by Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews also earned them a bit of flak.
Should hockey players stay in their own lane? Ultimately, it’s for the fans to decide, but we think it’s great that players are out there enjoying themselves.
h/t WRAL
