Report - Many NHL players still take part in 'disgusting' habit during intermission
Over the last twenty years, the National Hockey League and their players have taken a drastically different approach to the way they manage the game. This includes significant advancements in how teams and players approach their health and wellness. Teams have begun to employ full sports science departments to help players reach their peak physical condition.
You hear stories of the lengths players will go to, to give themselves a physical advantage over their opponents. This is a far cry from the stories you heard from locker rooms in the 1970's and 80's. Current contracts even have clauses in them that ensure players stay in shape during the off season.
Players today employ personal trainers, nutritionists and even in some cases personal chefs. Compare that to stories from the past, when players were said to smoke multiple cigarettes between periods and before games.
While the way players treat their bodies has changed, you'd assumed so would how they treat their longs, but apparently that's not the case.
Russo stated that while it was much more common in the older eras, there are still several players that take smoke breaks between periods.
The players interviewed did not disclose who the smokers were.
It's interesting to hear that this is still the case, especially given most NHL buildings have non-smoking policies in place for the entire building. You can teach an old dog new tricks, but you can't take the old school mentality out of the game.
| POLL | ||
Do you think players should be allowed to smoke between periods? | ||
| Yes, it's up to them | 335 | 58 % |
| They should, but not in the locker room | 142 | 24.6 % |
| No, they shouldn't be able to | 101 | 17.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
