The surprising news, perhaps, is that the NHL has made the cover of Sports Illustrated, an event that occurs just a handful of times a year. The unsurprising part, however, is who will be on the cover.
SI has decided to give hockey a little love on its upcoming issue, which will feature the NHL preview. It shouldn’t come as much of a shock, though, that the two regional covers that will be used will feature two of the game’s biggest and most marketable stars. Or, to put it another way, it features two players most casual fans would probably recognize and two players who might generate magazine sales in two of the league’s best hockey markets.
The two players are Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby (no way!) and Chicago’s Patrick Kane, with the latter coming off his second Stanley Cup win.
According to the covers, the magazine is predicting the Blackhawks will become the first team since the 1997-98 Red Wings to repeat as Stanley Cup champions while beating Crosby’s Penguins in the process. SI is also looking into “Hockey’s push to get the game back in the hands of Sidney Crosby and the goal scorers,” according to the cover featuring the Penguins superstar.
See both variations below.
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[tweet https://twitter.com/NHLBlackhawks/status/382882562751750144 align=’center’]
