5 NHL teams that could use a Philadelphia Flyers’ inspired ‘rage room’

The Philadelphia Flyers added a new “rage room” to their arena for fans to take out their frustrations in. Here are five other NHL teams that could follow suit.

In the most Philadelphia move in the history of the city, the Flyers have added a “rage room” to the Wells Fargo Center for the upcoming hockey season. Named “The Disassembly Room” due to the Independence Hall themed renovations of the arena that took place over the summer, hockey fans in Philadelphia now have a safe place to take out their frustrations in a team-sanctioned area.

The room is a one-of-a-kind feature for a sports arena, where fans can smash televisions, glasses, dishes and more with bats and crowbars, all while wearing protective gear to keep you safe from your rage-induced rampage.

“We ran the concept by some of our fans who told us they thought this would be a fresh way to have some harmless fun,” Valerie Camillo, President of Business Operations of Philadelphia Flyers and the Wells Fargo Center, said in an interview about the reveal. “I had never heard of a rage room before the design team pitched the idea. Now, I can’t wait to get in there and take a few whacks.”

ESPN’s Katie Nolan showcased the Flyers’ new rage room in a video with beloved mascot Gritty, and the pair tore it up in its debut.

This idea from the Flyers got us thinking, if other NHL teams could expand on this concept, what would they have in a themed room of their choosing for fans? Here are our top five choices for rage room inspired themes for NHL teams.

Ottawa Senators: Melnyk Madness

This one was pretty much a gimme from the get go. Though there’s no way this room would be sanctioned by the team itself, Senators fans would be lining up and down the streets of Ottawa to take a crack at objects with owner Eugene Melnyk’s face plastered on it.

Melnyk’s ownership woes with the Senators has been well documented over the seasons, from the constant relocation rumors and subsequent arena meltdowns, to being unable to keep team superstars such as Erik Karlsson, and also banning the reporter who broke the team’s unsavory Uber story from the team charter plane. Those grievances are just the start for Senators fans, who have laundry lists miles long despite the team being a goal away from the Stanley Cup Final in 2017.

As for the Senators’ current on ice product, the team sits dead last in the Eastern Conference with a 0-2 record through the first week of the season. It’s still early for the Senators, but projections for the team’s overall record are not kind to them as another year in the basement of the NHL looms.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Bubble Wrap Bonanza

The way things have started for the Pittsburgh Penguins this season, the team cannot afford to lose any more players to injury. News broke earlier in the week that Evgeni Malkin will miss at least a month with a soft tissue injury in his leg, sitting alongside forward Nick Bjugstad who will also be spending time out with a lower body injury. To cap it off, Patric Hornqvist left Tuesday night’s game against the Winnipeg Jets after taking a shot from his own teammate and was not at the team’s practice on Wednesday.

As such, Penguins fans would probably relish the opportunity to get a chance to bubble wrap Sidney Crosby and Matt Murray, among others, thoroughly before they step out onto the ice for the remainder of the season. Though not as fun as a rage room, Penguins fans would no doubt appreciate the piece of mind it would give them as their team continues to pile up the injuries.

Winnipeg Jets: Tryout Time

The Manitoba Moose are the Winnipeg Jets’ current AHL affiliate, but they may as well be the big league team at this point with how unrecognizable their NHL blue line is. The Jets’ defense is not what it used to be, not just in terms of quality but also in terms of name recognition. This season, the Jets are without Jacob Trouba, Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Chiarot, and Tyler Myers, and have lost a few more defensemen to the injury bug.

Former NHLer John Scott stepped up to offer his services as a potential blue line replacement for the revolving doors that are Winnipeg’s defense, but the team will probably need more help than that. Just like the NHL has emergency backup goaltenders locally in case a team has no available netminder, the Jets may need to keep a handful of willing and able fan participants to take the ice in case the team needs assistance in a pinch.

Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, others: Puppy Love

Seemingly, the complete opposite of a rage room has to be a room filled with dogs, right? Thankfully for many NHL teams, they have a solution right in their laps. In the last year or so, NHL teams adopting dog mascots have really taken off as a hot trend. The Stanley Cup winning St. Louis Blues had Barkley last season with the New York Rangers having Ranger, and now a handful of other teams, like the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning, have added some good boys to their rosters.

Colleges and universities frequently enlist service dogs to help students with anxiety on campuses, so giving NHL fans with established dog presences some time with the local pups at home games seems like a win-win for all sides. Unless you’re allergic, of course.

Calgary Flames: Time Machine Mulligan

If only time travel were real for Calgary Flames fans, then they would have had a chance to go back and tell ownership not to give up so easily on forward James Neal. While it’s still early in the season and things can change quickly, the Flames trade with the Edmonton Oilers that sent Neal away in exchange for Milan Lucic has looked like a bust for Calgary.

Neal, through three games played, has six goals on the season after notching four of those against the New York Islanders on Tuesday. Lucic, on the other hand, leads the NHL in penalty minutes (26) and fights (2) but has just one shot on goal.

Thanks to Neal’s efforts, the Oilers remain undefeated on the season and in first place in the Pacific Division, while the Flames are sitting at 1-1-1 in the early goings. By season’s end, Neal will likely have cooled off significantly, but the damage may have already been done to Flames’ fan’s egos.