Zdeno Chara took pictures with the Stanley Cup, Blackhawk who defeated him (Photo)
Marian Hossa’s day with the Stanley Cup finally arrived, which means a massive party back home in Slovakia and eating copious amounts of pierogies out of where Kris Draper’s baby pooped the bowl of the Cup.
Oh, and look who decided to drop by to take a photo with the Stanley Cup? A big giant runner-up:
That man-mountain is, of course, Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins, whose team was defeated by Hossa and the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2013 Stanley Cup Final.
Awkward? Hardly.
The two are neighbors back in Trencin, Slovakia.
Said Hossa, in June, to NHL.com: “Obviously we are good friends. He's my neighbor. He lives right across the street. But this coming up two weeks, that has to go on the side and we just have to play the roles. I’m going to play my game, he's going to play his game. I'm sure right after we'll be friends again.
Said Chara, in June, to NHL.com: “Once in a while we call each other, text. But not that often. Obviously, with the schedules we have, we play on different days, so sometimes it's hard.”
Indeed. But luckily the two had time to play catch-up while Marian Hossa was celebrating his second Stanley Cup in three seasons and Chara was contemplating how he was spun around like an eight-foot dreidel by Patrick Kane all series.
Is it bad form to take a photo with the enemy and his championship trophy after his team defeated you for said championship trophy?
We don’t know. We'll leave that to the Bruins fans and the Boston sports talk radio hosts who will analyze this like a photo of Bigfoot on a slow August news day.
But here’s what we propose: Dump the forced smiles and platitudes of the post-series handshake line, jack up the awkwardness and humiliation, and have every member of the winning team chose a member of the losing team to pose with him in front of the Stanley Cup.
Corey Crawford with a catching glove over Tuukka Rask’s face. Jonathan Toews giving Brad Marchand a noogie. Andrew Shaw bleeding all over Shawn Thornton. Dave Bolland pointing and laughing at Dennis Seidenberg. Get Kodak to sponsor it. The possibilities are endless.
