First things first, how are all of you guys? We know, we know. It’s been a while since we’ve been ‘round these parts. There’s a good reason for that, though. Aside from THWL, we’ve been working on other Hockey Things since the beginning of 2022, so we figured it was time for a proper break. Additionally, Perrye, unfortunately, got emergency surgery in May (she’s fine now! We promise!), so a break while she recuperated made sense.
Here’s what we’ve been talking about lately:
Rocky Wirtz, 1952-2023
On Tuesday, the Chicago Blackhawks announced the passing of Owner and Chairman Rocky Wirtz after a brief period of illness. As expected, the discussion of his legacy inevitably arose as people struggled to talk about a man who had almost imploded his own organization during that infamous town hall.
There was Rocky, the savior of Chicago Hockey. In a span of a few years, he undid his father’s decades of incompetent management. He began by allowing games to be televised, mending relationships with former stars, and bringing the team the Stanley Cup within his first three years. He ushered in a new era for hockey in Illinois and created a new generation of fans. He was, by many accounts, a genial, charitable man loved by many.
However, there was also Rocky Wirtz, a ruthless businessman. The man who wanted to create a “winning culture” looked away as the organization festered away. For over a decade, John McDonough was allowed to create a culture mired in fear and control. A toxic culture that would end up ruining the life of Kyle Beach and leave a trail of victims behind.
Though he remained relatively unscathed when the Block and Jenner report was published, his own hubris would end up being his undoing. After a decade-plus of admiration and reverence as the model owner, the tantrum heard across the hockey world was the lasting impression he left on all of us. It was a peek behind the curtain, and what we saw was an out-of-touch, remorseless billionaire who may not have understood the damage caused. It was an inexcusable moment that would end up defining the last years of his life.
Though we offer sympathy to those who loved him, all we can do is look at the future and hope that the new generation of Wirtz gets it right this time. So now… about that logo…
Patrice Bergeron hangs up his skates.
After two decades with the Boston Bruins, Captain Patrice Bergeron announced his retirement, ending one of the most prolific careers in the team’s history. Of course, the outpouring of love was instantaneous and from all corners of the sport.
Retiring players get kind - but ultimately perfunctory - praises from everyone around them all the time. We’ve all heard their impact on the game, how great they were, etc. Bergeron, however, is one of the few who has rightfully earned them all.
His on-ice accomplishments alone would have been more than enough to earn him the praise but Bergeron’s steadfast commitment to making hockey a better place is what earned our admiration.
Year after year (and Selke after Selke), Bergeron showed us his unwavering belief that everyone is worthy of compassion and understanding. Even in the oppressive culture of the NHL, and even when he didn’t have to, he spoke up repeatedly.
We could talk about many moments, but the one that stands out the most was his reaction when Kyle Beach came forward with his story. Prompted by a conversation with Bruce Cassidy, he gathered the players to watch and discuss the interview together. He understood that this was a matter of consequence, treated it with the seriousness it deserved, and offered the decency and understanding ill-afforded to Kyle by many of his peers. Even in his missteps (see Friedman interview), Bergeron tried his best.
His retirement is acutely felt because it’s a reminder of what hockey could be; good, fun, and most of all, humane. In a sport that takes and takes from us and chews up its own, he was a beacon of unflinching kindness and a reminder that maybe, one day, hockey will be better.
We wish him the very best as he starts this new portion of his life!
Seattle Kraken flew too close to the sun.
Oh boy! Where do we start with the Booktok drama?
Let us preface this by saying that here at THWL, we don’t condone sexual harassment. Alex and Felicia Wennberg had the right to speak out over something that made them uncomfortable.
However, that’s not what we want to discuss today.
The Seattle Kraken tiktok account played into the hype the boys would get on Booktok. They brought attention to the attraction of the team’s players by making videos using suggestive audio and willingly tagging them with the #Booktok.
Yes, Booktok did take it too far, but we can’t absolve the Kraken from any accountability. The Kraken social team should be held accountable for using Wennberg as Booktok bait. Yes, social media is about trends and risks. Some ideas will work, and others don’t. However, they can’t use specific spaces for engagement and then turn around and pretend they never existed. This doesn’t seem very transparent, especially after the team enabled Booktok’s behaviour and used this section of Tiktok as a marketing tool to grow their fanbase, just to simply delete all the related content without a *due* explanation.
An explanation that would have probably reduced the scale of proportion this took over the weekend.
Whether people like to admit it or not, that section of Booktok was right! They brought attention to a different demographic that hockey has never seen before! The Booktok drama went mainstream in various spaces. We’ve seen more big social media accounts mention the word “hockey” and discuss the drama in the past few days than ever in our life!
Over the weekend, we also saw many people taking pleasure in seeing the downfall of hockey Booktok, but we can’t help but laugh at the irony of the situation. The same people, which are loud and act high and mighty, are posting from accounts where they are also being creepy about players, violating their privacy, all in the name of fandom. The parasocial relationship some fans have fostered, and the unhealthy behaviours certain of you participated in has been disturbing to witness in the past few years.
We are aware that fandom is a really complex space. In an environment and a sport where the line between the fans and teams is almost non-existent, it can be easy to lose yourself in your fandom and forget about boundaries.
Let this saga be a lesson to all, and be an excellent opportunity to revisit what it means to be a fan of someone and how to engage with these people you love and admire because some of you are closer to being the next main character than you realize.
This is a long one, so thank you for sticking with us!
With Love,
Gaby and Perrye