Too Hot for the Ice

Edited for relevance on 7.15.2014

Here at Distinct Kicking Motion, we hear all kinds of stories from inside the dressing rooms around the NHL.  We hear about gags that happen between roommates on the road.  We hear about guys that are sooo nuts that their nicknames reflect the world they live in, all by themselves.  You hear stories about guys who are so full of themselves (read: Steve Mason) that they couldn't get laid in a french brothel with a fist full of fifties.  But one of the most compelling "The Rest of the Story" stories I've heard is the Chicago Blackhawks Ice Crew.

Now, most of your self respecting NHL franchises would never replay a fight on the Jumbo-tron during a game.  After all, this is a family game.  That, and replaying a fight is rumored to get you a nifty $10,000 fine from the league.  So does replaying any sort of gruesome injury.  However, if you want to make sure your ice crew is decked out in all the latest hooch gear, go right ahead.  The league has no issue with that.  In 2010, we had two sources confirm that the Blackhawks Ice Crew received several letters of dissatisfaction from notable fans over the 'tastefulness' of the ice crew's outfits in 2009-2010.

The NHL is full of smart, tough, and handsome young gentlemen.  Most are very loyal and devout spouses once they are in a serious relationship and/or married.  Yet, many still relish the opportunity to harmlessly swap clever one-liners with the occasional cute girl at her expense.  Well, the notable fanbase that was objecting to the ice crew's uniforms was the players wives.  At first the players wives thought the young ladies in the ice crew were just very attentive to the ice in front of the players bench.  Then one wife noticed the girls seemed to be taking direction from players during TV time outs.  I mean really, if a girl was skating bent over in front of me dressed like that, I'd tell her there was a rough spot in front of the door that needed attention too.  My wife would reluctantly understand.

So while the league had no issue with the production crew dressing up someone's daughter in 52% of a hockey jersey to bend over and shovel ice in what some could consider a compromising fashion during TV timeouts, the wives had some issue with it.  So the wives, still appreciating that even cute little tarts need to make a buck too young women should still be able to respectfully show off their bodies, made a few suggestions on how the outfits could still be revealing, while not being a distraction.  Seriously, hockey wives are the best.

Same beave, less cleave.

I'm still looking at this and not the jumbo-tron.

 The ice crew was still free to willingly wear an outfit that showcased the genetic attributes of women in a manner in which they felt comfortable.  The people who affected the change were directly impacted by the presence of the original outfit on the ice.  This intervention seemed appropriate and not overreaching.  The dissenting voices offered a fair and equitable solution to which all agreed.  While one could contest the choice to wear a more revealing outfit was taken away from the ice crew (GASP!) a middle ground was reached.  The NHL remains a family affair and the Chicago Blackhawks have done their part to keep it that why.