Besides matching shirts, the theme of this summer’s Stanley Cup parties seems to be for former teammates and other NHL players to join in on all the fun the Kings are having.
Above, Eric Cole (of the Montreal Canadiens) helps Willie Mitchell drink from the Cup. As previously reported, Justin Williams had the Bruins’ Dennis Seidenberg in tow when he took the Cup to an Atlantic City casino last month. And there have been a few other occurrences as well.
But, a member of the Ducks partying with the Kings?
Would a Yankees outfielder yuck it up with a Beantown pitcher?
If there’s one member of the Kings who has been outspoken about rivalries with other teams, it’s Drew Doughty. He once told us that on a scale of 1-10, his hatred for the Canucks was a 10 – adding, “We hate every single guy on that team.”
Now, most of the players are all professionals off the ice. As evidenced by Doughty hosting the Sharks’ Logan Couture, Nazem Kadri of the Maple Leafs and a handful of other players at his recent softball tournament.
For the second year in a row, Corey Perry also participated in the event.
“I’ve known Pears for a long time,” Doughty told MayorsManor. “When I was 15 or 16 years old he won the Cup with the Anaheim Ducks. I had the same agent as him and was lucky enough to get invited to his Stanley Cup party. Ever since then, I’ve been friends with him. He lives here in London, just down the street from me actually. We’re together quite a bit over the summer – we golf a lot, hang out and go for drinks, stuff like that.”
Given that he previously ranked his hatred of the Ducks at about an eight, would he even think of having one of his cross-town rivals share in the private Cup party planned for later tonight?
“Sure, if he’s available. Why not?”
Baseball has all sorts of unwritten codes the players need to abide by. Apparently, hockey doesn’t work the same way.
Regardless, there will be a few Kings in attendance. Jeff Carter, Jarret Stoll, Brad Richardson and Trevor Lewis are all expected to be there tonight.
[UPDATE: Perry did attend Doughty’s party, as did Brandon Prust of the Canadiens and the Sharks’ Logan Couture.]
With all of these interesting Cup features, how would you be spending the summer had the Kings not won it? LOL
Oh yeah, NHRA, baseball, etc.
Thanks, Mayor!