from Michael Traikos of the National Post,

In the beginning, it was a way to sweat out the poison.

The morning skate, which was created some time in the 1970s and might now be on its deathbed, was essentially a curfew. It forced players to reconsider whether they would stay up late the night before a game drinking at a bar. At the very least, it gave the night owls a chance to work off a hangover.

“If you knew you had to be at the rink in the morning and there was a coach you had to answer to, yeah it would certainly make you think twice before partying all night and having booze on your breath the next day,” said Hall of Fame forward Darryl Sittler. “I certainly wasn’t one of those guys.”

As another former player joked, you rarely have to worry about that these days. If anything, today’s NHLer is more likely to be up all hours playing Xbox and chugging protein shakes than boozing at a bar.

Maybe that — along with a condensed schedule and more scientific knowledge about the importance of rest and recovery — is why the morning skate is becoming more and more unnecessary.

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