NHL shoots down Johnny Gaudreau’s flaming stick idea

By Phil Naegely | Jan 25, 2015

Nov 18, 2014; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames left wing Johnny Gaudreau (13) controls the puck against the Anaheim Ducks during the third period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Calgary Flames won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports /

The NHL All-Star Weekend is filled with many memorable moments. One idea by rookie Johnny Gaudreau was shot down in the name of “player safety”.

Usually, the NHL All-Star Weekend feature some pretty cool highlight reels and creative skill shots. Calgary Flames rookie Johnny Gaudreau had a brilliant idea for the skills challenge by lighting his stick on fire. Ultimately NHL’s Director of Player Safety Patrick Burke took to Twitter to explained why Gaudreau’s idea was shot down after the rookie mentioned it on the NHL Network’s broadcast.

It appears that Burke’s conversation with Gaudreau was going to stay a secret. However, the NHL rookie had a different idea and spilled the beans about the idea to the NHL Network for all the fans to hear.

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One thing is for sure, the rookie is thinking outside the box and let his creative juices flow when thinking about an idea for the skills challenge. Yet, the league had to shoot the idea down for “player safety”. I understand why the NHL doesn’t want a player to be handling a flaming stick, but it would have been a wonderful spectacle. If the league is worried about being held liable, force the rookie to sign a waiver of liability putting all risk in his hands.

However, it appears “Director of Funland Security” and the office attorneys who were having “simultaneous heart attacks weren’t able to think about how to take the fault out of their hands. Instead, the NHL skills challenge only featured 108.5 MPH slapshots and the same old events.

At the same time, the same league who shoots down flaming sticks allows the Columbus Blue Jackets to fire off a cannon as their goal-scoring celebration. Guess what, it scared the crap out of the Flames rookie on Saturday and could easily send an older fan into shock or trigger a heart attack.

If the league really cares about safety of players, then all avenues involving players need to be addressed. This includes a loud cannon that could damage hearing or trigger medical emergencies to occur. If players can have fun with fire, then teams should be able to fire off explosives like cannons.

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