Every hockey player, regardless of age and skill level, has an opinion on things like the best and worst road cities or towns to play in or the best and worst visiting locker rooms.
Those discussion come up in every dressing room all over the world and it's always interesting to discover the takes NHL players have on these age-old questions. As per Emily Kaplan's annual NHL player poll, we got the answer to the locker room question with some anonymous comments from players across the league.
1. Which team has the worst visiting locker room?
Washington Capitals: 42%
Boston Bruins: 34%
Carolina Hurricanes: 18%
New York Islanders: 4%
Florida Panthers: 2%
What the players said:
"Washington's showers are so bad. They're like a prison shower. There's a pole in the middle, then just spews that come out of that one pole. Not that I care if someone is showering next to me, but it's just a really weird setup."
"Boston is brutal. You're right there next to the rink. It's cold. You're not comfortable. If you feel comfortable, you're going to play well, so that's probably why they do it. It's a competitive advantage for them."
"I'm not a fan of the old Coliseum in Long Island. It's too long of a walk from the locker room to the ice. I hate making that walk."
"I don't really like Florida. Your gear is, like, never dry. It's just, like, swampy and sticky, and you feel like it smells worse than usual, which says a lot."
"Carolina isn't great. It could definitely use an update."
Some surprising results...so which team's have the best visiting locker room?
2. Which team has the best visiting locker room?
Edmonton Oilers: 40%
Vegas Golden Knights: 28%
Detroit Red Wings: 20%
Minnesota Wild: 12%
What the players said:
"Edmonton is like a penthouse. There's so much space."
"The visiting locker room is the best thing about going to Edmonton."
"Vegas is huge. Good showers. No one is close to each other. The trainers have their own space, coaches have their own space. Usually you don't have that as the road team."
"Detroit's visiting room is super nice. But it's not my favorite. Because in Detroit, you walk out and they have this restaurant there for fans right before the entrance to the ice. I usually go out first and like to stand there for a minute or two. But all these fans are knocking on the glass. It's pretty annoying."
At least Edmonton's got that going for it because when it came to worst road playoff city, Edmonton was on the list.
(H/T: Emily Kaplan)
