The Great One Retires & History of the Playoff Beard
Also, some "Today in Hockey History", revisiting the Dan Boyle trade, leaders in playoff hat tricks, and more.
Welcome to the THW Hockey History Substack newsletter, with all the best from our extensive archives.
In today’s edition, we have a couple of “Today in Hockey History” posts, a look back at Wayne Gretzky’s last season in the NHL, a history of the playoff beard, revisiting the Dan Boyle trade that is still impacting the Tampa Bay Lightning, and more.
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Now on to the good stuff…
Today in Hockey History: Dec. 15
Dec. 15 was a very important date in National Hockey History as two legendary arenas hosted their first games while another old barn saw the last game within its walls. Also, five was the magic number on this date, and numerous franchises had players accomplish various feats for the first time. Let’s take our daily trip back in time for all the great hockey moments!
New York Rangers and 99: When Gretzky Hung ‘Em Up
The 1998-99 season was a special one in New York Rangers’ history. It was the last season Wayne “The Great One” Gretzky played hockey. It was a time of mixed emotions throughout the hockey world.
Tears, joy, reflection; and a changing of the guard would start to take place.
Revisiting the Dan Boyle Trade That’s Still Impacting the Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning recently competed in their first-ever Stanley Cup playoff series against their in-state rival Florida Panthers. The two teams have a long history of playing against each other in the Sunshine State Showdown but have never made any blockbuster transactions on the business side of the game. The Lightning, however, did make arguably one of the best trades in franchise history when they acquired defenseman Dan Boyle from the Panthers. He not only played a key role in the Lightning’s 2004 Stanley Cup win, but his trade ultimately led to the addition of Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Today in Hockey History: Dec. 14
Dec. 14 has been a very eventful and unique day in National Hockey League history. Among the more memorable moments are a pair of Hall of Fame blueliners scoring their first hat tricks, some major personal milestones, and big-time performances out of a handful of former number one overall picks. Let’s fire up the hockey time machine and start our daily trip throughout the decades.
Fuzzy History of the NHL Playoff Beard
When the 2024 Playoffs roll around, the beloved playoff beards will be back. Long a tradition of NHL players, the facial hair-growing frenzy has been adopted by fans in recent years. Snapchat filters, NHL sponsor commercials, and in-game giveaways have turned the playoff beard into a hockey pop culture phenomenon. It even has its own Wikipedia page!
All-Time Leaders in Stanley Cup Playoff Hat Tricks
On May 4, 2022, Kirill Kaprizov registered his first career postseason hat trick in the Minnesota Wild’s 6-2 win over the St. Louis Blues in Game 2 of their first-round series. Two days later, Evander Kane got his first playoff hat trick to help propel the Edmonton Oilers past the Los Angeles Kings, 8-2, and take a 2-1 series lead.
The two newest additions to the playoff hat trick club still have a ways to go if they want to join the players atop the list of most career postseason hat tricks. Here is a more in-depth look at the five players with the most career playoff hat tricks in NHL history.