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.
Being a lenohead is so fun because half the time you’re like my gorgeous chud is my sun my moon my stars anyone who harms him will face consequences and half the time you’re like he should cry big fat giant embarrassing tears and an older man should tell him what to do
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