from Alex Prewitt of Sports Illustrated,

Over the past several weeks, as the 2018-19 season whirred into motion, I’ve been floating a certain thesis by players around the NHL. Born from the same mothballed brain that delivered a story on goalie bathroom breaks, the argument goes like this:

No place in professional sports is grosser than the floor of a hockey bench.

“Ooo, it’s got to be up there,” says Avalanche defenseman Ian Cole. “There’s a lot of s---.”

“Pretty nasty,” says Kings forward Tyler Toffoli.

“Really bad,” says Canucks center Bo Horvat.

“Disgusting,” says Toronto’s Auston Matthews, the league’s leading scorer through Thursday. “I would never touch anything there.”

“Agreed,” says none other than the best player in the world, Edmonton’s Connor McDavid. “Agreed.”

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