Yes, we’ve hit that point of the summer. Trust me, there isn’t much news out there in regards to the Lightning or the league in general. With Julien BriseBois having wrapped up his summer to-do list, we shouldn’t expect much to come out in the next month or so before training camp opens. The downside of a stable hockey club – not much in the way of headlines.
Luckily, we’ve been able to follow the Stanley Cup around as various players and staff members celebrate their day with the Cup. As of right now it hasn’t jumped the ocean and headed to Russia to party with Nikita Kucherov, Mikhail Sergachev, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Alex Volkov, but hopefully that will happen soon. Can’t wait to see Kucherov drink plenty of Bud Light out of it.
In the meantime we’ve seen various members of the team eat various local food items out of the hallowed trophy. Here is one person’s ranking of what we’ve seen consumer over the past couple of weeks.
5. Shrimp Poutine (Cedric Paquette)
On tonight’s episode of Cooking with Stanley: @Paquette18 & shrimp poutine. 🍽 pic.twitter.com/pQpr4nqEPV
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) August 19, 2021
Not going to lie. You had me until the shrimp were added. Not a fan of seafood. Especially crustaceans. It caused some issues as a kid growing up in Baltimore.
4. Lobster (Not sure who)
Of course a #stanleycup party in the Maritimes cant be without Lobster. @NHL @TBLightning @HockeyHallFame pic.twitter.com/HHLU2ynL9Y
— Philip Pritchard (@keeperofthecup) August 22, 2021
I know this is a controversial pick, but again I just don’t like seafood.
3. Mashed potatoes/Scallops/Caviar (David Savard)
An absolute FEAST from @dsavy58. 🍴 pic.twitter.com/rN17Sbeu7G
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) August 19, 2021
So much seafood. What the heck? Doesn’t anyone eat steak out of this thing? Again, my natural aversion to seafood would steer me away from this, but I’m kind of intrigued by the combination of mashed potatoes and caviar. I would try that, especially if it was presented to me in the Stanley Cup.
2. Maple Taffy (Yanni Gourde)
We’ve got maple taffy in the Stanley Cup, folks ‼️@YanniGourde pic.twitter.com/mZKeMzUucE
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) August 18, 2021
Well now. You have my attention. That looks absolutely delightful.
- Poutine (Mathieu Joseph)
Now that’s fine dining. 🏆🤌@MathJoseph7 pic.twitter.com/5qi2rbWSRS
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) August 15, 2021
C’mon now, look at that gravy. According to the keeper of the Cup, Phil Pritchard, that’s roughly 200 ounces of poutine. If my limited research is correct, that would be roughly 12,000 calories, 798 grams of fat, 1498 milligrams of cholestrol, and 22,232 milligrams of sodium. Well worth it if you ask me.
So, what food item would you eat out of the Stanley Cup if you were able to spend a day with it?
Hockey/ NHL News
The Stanley Cup continues its North American tour as it made a stop in Prince Edwards Island. Lightning talent scout Grant Sonier took the trophy to his hometown and celebrated with about 800 fans. [P.E.I. hockey fans rejoice as Stanley Cup makes stop in Summerside]
Need to keep up with the Cup? The Lightning’s video series details Ryan McDonagh’s day with Lord Stanley.
Tracey caught us up with all of the Orlando Solar Bears’ moves (prior to yesterday). While most of these players most likely won’t see time with the Lightning during the season, they could be key players for Orlando and possibly Syracuse in the upcoming season. Besides, you never know, Yanni Gourde saw time in the ECHL and he’s doing pretty well these days. [Solar Bears Summer Update]
Power polls? In the summer? Sure, why not. The folks over at Yahoo Sports threw together an offseason power poll based on organizations current outlook in a five-year window. The Lightning came in second behind Colorado. [Teams with the best 5-year window]
The hockey community lost another member at too young of an age. Jimmy Hayes, a second round draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2008, played for four teams (Chicago, Florida, Boston, and New Jersey), was found dead in his house at the age of 31. As of now, the cause of death is unknown. [Former Bruin has died at the age of 31]
Former teammate (in New Jersey) and current Lightning forward, Patrick Maroon, expressed his condolences for his friend.
It might be the doldrums of summer, but there is highly competitive hockey being played in Calgary. The IIHF Women’s World Cup is underway and Team USA is off to a strong start. They ran their record to 2-0 in the preliminary round as they dispatched their 2019 Gold Medal Game opponent, Finland, 3-0 on Sunday. Through three games the US has yet to allow a goal. [USA defeats Finland, 3-0]
Don’t forget – today is the last day to rank the top 25 players in the organization under the age of 25.
