When you think of the NHL and the Stanley Cup Playoffs, what’s one of the first things that comes to mind?
You guessed it: playoff beards.
The on-ice game play obviously is paramount, but the epic facial hair that players obtain over (they hope) nearly two full months of grueling hockey is a sight to behold.
Yet apparently not everyone is a fan of these luscious beards. NBC Sports chairman Mark Lazarus recently told the Chicago Tribune he reached out to the NHL and its players asking them to shave their beards during the playoffs.
“The players won’t like this, but I wish they all would stop growing beards in the postseason,” Lazarus said. “Let’s get their faces out there. Let’s talk about how young and attractive they are. What model citizens they are. (Hockey players) truly are one of a kind among professional athletes.
“I know it’s a tradition and superstition, but I think (the beards do) hurt recognition. They have a great opportunity with more endorsements. Or simply more recognition with fans saying, ‘That guy looks like the kid next door,’ which many of these guys do. I think that would be a nice thing.”
It’s easy to see where Lazarus is coming from as a TV executive; he wants players to be easily recognizable and become clear-cut “stars” of the sport. Yet the playoff scruff is part of an NHL player’s appeal. Besides, it’s hard to argue you can’t identify someone just because of some hair on his chin.
Lazarus can talk all he wants, but as far as actually getting players to lop off their beards? Good luck with that.
“If you ask a player to get rid of his beard, he’ll say you’re crazy,” former Chicago Blackhawk Brent Sopel told the Tribune. “The tradition, the camaraderie of everyone having facial hair and winning the Stanley Cup, it all goes hand in hand.”
Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images
