NHL

NHL player Erik Haula pays tribute to unborn daughter after her death: ‘We cannot wait to hold you one day in heaven’

Carolina Hurricanes center Erik Haula and his wife, Kristen Haula, took to Instagram to announce the tragic loss of their unborn daughter this week. 

“While it’s not what is best for everyone, it personally feels best for us to share,” Kristen explained of the family’s decision to make the loss public. She revealed that after feeling “amazing” during her entire pregnancy, which the couple announced in November, that an ultrasound on Monday revealed their baby had lost her heartbeat. 

“While it may be hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel on some days going forward, and some may be harder than others to understand why this happened, the complete joy & excitement she has brought to us and those who love her will be with us forever,” she continued. “Mommy and Daddy know she is being taken care of in heaven.”

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We are starting 2020 with our own beautiful little angel looking over our family 👼🏼 While it’s not what is best for everyone, it personally feels best for us to share. Sometimes there are things in life that happen that are completely out of our control. After feeling amazing my entire pregnancy, with our baby girl giving me very minimal unpleasant pregnancy symptoms… at our ultrasound on Monday our sweet baby girl had lost her strong heartbeat. While it may be hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel on some days going forward, and some may be harder than others to understand why this happened, the complete joy & excitement she has brought to us and those who love her will be with us forever. ♥️ Mommy and Daddy know she is being taken care of in heaven. ‘She was here for a moment, but left a lifetime of love’ 💗💗💗

A post shared by Kristen Haula (@kristen.haula) on

Erik Haula echoed his wife’s heartbreaking sentiments in his own post on Wednesday, which revealed that the death occurred on December 30. 

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Boston’s David Pastrnak trolls Justin Bieber after Bruins win over Maple Leafs

Drake isn’t the only famous Canadian whose favorite team is having a tough time as of late. 

Singer Justin Bieber was in Boston, Mass., on Tuesday, alongside wife Hailey, to watch the Toronto Maple Leafs take on the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of their first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series. 

Bieber, a native of Ontario, hasn’t been shy about his Maple Leafs fandom – and at least one Bruins player has taken notice. 

After Boston handily defeated Toronto 5-1 in the decisive game, 22-year-old right winger David Pastrnak took to social media to troll Bieber. Pastrnak both tweeted at the singer and commented on one of his Instagram posts, pouring salt in the wound of yet another Game 7 loss for the Leafs. 

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After speculation, NHL player Joel Ward says he will not kneel during national anthem

Joel Ward will not kneel for the national anthem.

Ward, a right winger for the San Jose Sharks of the NHL, posted a lengthy statement to his Twitter account on Thursday after days of speculation about whether or not he may take a knee in solidarity with NFL players protesting social injustices. Ward is one of roughly 30 black players in the National Hockey League.

“As a black man, I have experienced racism both inside and outside of the sporting world,” Ward wrote. “Make no mistake that racism exists and that people of color are treated differently on a day-to-day basis.”

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Nashville Predators fan finds out he won free Stanley Cup tickets a month late

Stanley Cup tickets are, naturally, hard to come by — but it becomes even more difficult to acquire the coveted passes when a city is hosting its first Finals ever.

That was the case this year when the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators faced off. While Pittsburgh has already won five Stanley Cup Finals (including 2016 and, spoiler alert, 2017), Nashville made its first appearance in the championship just this year.

Predators fan Andrew Fudge obviously wanted to be there. He took to Twitter twice with the hashtag #TDPreds to get the attention of the team — and it worked!

Fudge won two tickets to Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals in Nashville. There was just one problem: he never checked his Twitter direct messages.

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A look back at the best photos from the year in sports

2016 was a beast of a year.

With all that went on in news and politics around the world, it was nice to be able to sit back, relax and watch some sports every once in a while.

… Sorry, did we say ‘relax’? We meant scream and jump and cry and pull your hair out and not relax even a little bit at all.

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(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Hundreds of thousands line streets of Pittsburgh for Stanley Cup celebration

The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the San Jose Sharks Sunday night to win their first Stanley Cup since 2009, and the fourth in team history. Citizens of Pittsburgh, obviously thrilled by the victory, came out in droves for the team’s celebratory parade on Wednesday.

Officials estimate that the number of people lining the streets reached 400,000, which is impressive considering the city itself is home to just over 300,000.

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(Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

TBT: Sidney Crosby’s colorful photoshoot from the 2005 NHL Draft

Sidney Crosby: two-time NHL MVP, 2009 Stanley Cup champion, Pittsburgh Penguins captain and… amateur model?

Looking back at Crosby’s Draft Day photoshoot, that seems to be the case. In honor of the Penguins being back in — and close to winning — the Stanley Cup Finals right now, we dug up a few throwback gems of Sid the Kid from the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

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TBT: Joe Thornton in his early, beardless Bruins days

Joe Thornton has been a staple in the National Hockey League since he was drafted first overall by the Boston Bruins in 1997 — but if you somehow haven’t been keeping up with him since then, you probably wouldn’t recognize him now.

Thornton came into the league fresh-faced and starry-eyed after two years in the Ontario Hockey League. He played with the Bruins until 2005, becoming the team’s captain and a fan-favorite but never winning the Stanley Cup.

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