Vinny Desharnais shared a couple Sid stories in a recent interview:
Phil Gendron: But what’s it like right before a trade happens? You walk into a new locker room and look around—you’ve got Malkin, Crosby, Karlsson, Letang...
What is it like? And what’s Sid really like? Everyone says such great things about him. They say he’s the best human being.
Vincent Desharnais: What everyone says is true. You know, with some guys, that’s not always the case. With them it's the appearances. He’s exactly who everyone says he is. He's the same. We arrived right before the game, for the game. I didn't know anyone there. You play with guys, it's heading into battle without knowing anyone. I knew their names and they knew mine, but we didn't actually *know* each other. So, I arrive to the arena in a suit and tie… I greet everyone “hey, nice to meet you, I'm Vinny. Hey, nice to meet you”. Then Sid walks in wearing just his boxers; he’s in the middle of changing in the dry stalls. He gives me a warm welcome: “Well, you're gonna get a naked hug, man. I'm sorry.” and he gives me a hug. “Hey, I'm Sid. Nice to meet you. Welcome, If you need anything, just let me know." He was in his boxers. I remember thinking, "Wow, that’s really cool." But it's Sid.
Right after the game—it was against Nashville and we’d won that one— he came over to see me and Heinen and he said, "Boys, if you need anything, let me know." He told Heinen, "If your wife has any questions, I’ll put her in touch with my wife, and she’ll take care of her—don't worry."
Phil Gendron: Oh, he's the king.
Vincent Desharnai: You could feel right away that he was there for you, wanting to make sure you were okay, not just treating you like a number passing through.
And then the last night I was with Pittsburgh —that’s really when everything clicked. We’d played in Colorado—we lost—and we were staying there before flying to Vegas the next day. We had a day off in Vegas. So, after the game and dinner at the hotel...Most of the guys left, but it was me, Sid, Letang, and Boko—we stayed behind and sat there having a glass of wine.
We chatted until 1:30 in the morning about everything and nothing—just life. We talked about contracts— Boko asked him a lot about that—like, "Why did you always take 8.7?" Sid talked about that. Then we moved on to talking about his family, then we talked about Boko's family. It was so cool to see that human side; I didn't really know him before, but that moment was just... incredible.
The next day, we got up—Boko and I. I saw him and said, "Big, do you realize what happened yesterday?" He said, "Man, I went to sleep yesterday. I was absolutely over the moon; I couldn't quite grasp what had just happened.”
It’s those little moments—beyond playing in the National League—that really stick with me; those are the moments I remember most and cherish. Sid took 2 hours and 30 minutes to sit with us. He could have said “I'm going to sleep, boys”. It was in between Québécois so it's easier for him not to come. And Sid sometimes he would talk in French. I appreciated Sid so much.
When I was traded out of Pittsburgh, I thought it was disappointing to start over again. I thought it was disappointing to lose my Québécois teammates. And I thought it was very disappointing to lose Sid because he's the type guy I had 800 questions for. I wanted badly to learn from him, to watch.
BONUS STORY: Vinny talking about getting his dad to go on the Penguins Fathers Trip.
i'm really desperate to learn the names & logos of the new pwhl teams so i've decided to use the offseason to come up with some fun ideas for team names i think would work --
hamilton unionised steel workers -- a catchy team name that makes a subtle nod to the history of the city, while tying that history to the present day. players' unions have dramatically shaped the field of modern sports, and key figures such as Marvin Miller brought their expertise from United Steelworkers. additionally, it has a link to key moments in queer history, in the employment protections steel unions provided to queer labourers. [ps, idea for visuals?]
las vegas creosote-bursage flats -- there's already been a lot of discussion of the celebration of vegas' beautiful natural environment in the colours chosen to represent pwhl las vegas, and i tried to follow that here. earlier concepts involved cactus flowers but that felt predictable. all too often women are associated with daintiness, flowers, objectified as beautiful objects. the creosote-bursage flats assert that womens' sports are unexpected, vast, and strong. it's an identity that just makes sense.
san jose monterey bay aquarium -- i know people hate collective noun names, but let me try and sell you on this one. as the only bay area team, i understand people's instincts to connect the team identity to marine life, but anything to close to the sharks i think would reflect badly and imply they're a "little sister" team. instead, we make the sharks the afterthought team name, with the pwhl team owning the "umbrella" identity. plus, who doesn't love the aquarium?
the detroit bootleggers -- too many teams are associating with now-legal gambling, and not enough are promoting breaking stupid laws. whether it's smuggling in players through pre-trade-window deals or trafficking Canadian alcohol during prohibition, detroit has a rich history of bootlegging. perhaps this could be a team identity that inspires them to break a few more rules? c'mon, it can't hurt!
24th of January 1971???? i THINK??? it's the only date from that season that makes sense, but I can only match one of the numbers with a given penalty (Vancouver #15 Rosaire Paiement, third Canuck from the left) the other guys who were handed penalties have their numbers out of sight :c
EDIT! WAIT! this is 100% this date because the guy who was fighting Paiement is #16 Ron Harris (idk how i missed that) who also got penalties!!! Gary Bergman (Red Wings #2), Gerry Hart (Red Wings #18), Murray Hall (Canucks #23) and Dan Seguin (Canucks #17) remain disguised :/
you know what, sid? you’re right. it IS classy to send flowers to your partner after you release too quickly. that’s a big dog move, well done. hope you have that florist on speed dial.
yousharknotpass
tangentwithtanner
gamechangershow
gummygunk
