Kukla's Korner Hockey
Smoking In The Game
by Paul on 02/29/12 at 07:54 PM ET
Comments (6)
from Adrian Dater of Sports Illustrated,
When Mike Keenan arrived to coach the Blackhawks in 1988, he noticed something disturbing in his team’s dressing room at Chicago Stadium: ashtrays. Not just the squiggly-squared, amber-colored glass trays that populated most public places, but tall, regal-looking stands. Finished butts, dozens of them, had been given proper state funerals, or so it looked.
Keenan, no saint but never a smoker, was shocked.
“I had just come from Philadelphia, where there really weren’t a lot of guys who smoked,” he says. “But I walk in and see those ashtrays everywhere, and the first thing I told the guys was: ‘OK, no more smoking in the dressing room. If you gotta smoke, do it out in the hallway.’ So I’m coaching my first exhibition game and I go into the dressing room after the first period to talk, and there’s no one in there. I’m wondering what in hell is going on, and take a walk out to the other side of the hallway and the whole team is out there, smoking cigarettes.”
continue for more smoking stories…
Filed in: NHL Teams, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Comments
Cigars are as far as I’ll go. I’ll do the Padron Robustos, Monte Cristos #2, and the Rodriguez Torpedos (which was my first cigar in over a year).
Posted by SYF from the Flood on 02/29/12 at 10:23 PM ET
you know makes me chuckle? whenever i’m around a group of smokers and I rip a fart, they’ll look at me like i’m the gross one… lol
Posted by kenora_guy from Kenora, ON on 02/29/12 at 10:42 PM ET
you know makes me chuckle? whenever i’m around a group of smokers and I rip a fart, they’ll look at me like i’m the gross one… lol
It is possible for multiple people to be “gross.” 
Posted by Steve Strowbridge from St. John's, NL, CA on 03/01/12 at 02:29 AM ET
you know makes me chuckle? whenever i’m around a group of smokers and I rip a fart, they’ll look at me like i’m the gross one… lol
Posted by kenora_guy from Kenora, ON on 02/29/12 at 07:42 PM ET
You are.
Posted by From The Hockey Wastelands from Cleveland on 03/01/12 at 12:31 PM ET
Different world back then. Most guys started smoking during WW II and it became very widespread. I guess they figured if they survived that why worry about anything. Just enjoy life. People today haven’t really seen bad times.
Posted by 13 user names on 03/01/12 at 10:20 PM ET
Add a Comment
Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.
Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.
Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.
Most Recent Blog Posts
Kings dinged by ‘intent to blow’
Four Teams in Playoff Action Tonight
Phil Housley Named Assistant Coach For Nashville
Kearns Finally Found The Right Situation
Detroit Is Finding New Ways to Win
About Kukla's Korner Hockey
Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.
From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.
Email Paul anytime at pk@kuklaskorner.com
This article makes me wanna throw in a lipper.
Posted by WhiteLightning91 from Detroit, MI on 02/29/12 at 10:02 PM ET