Logan Thompson stepped off the ice and headed up the tunnel before turning left.
The Washington Capitals goaltender made a quick right into the visitors’ locker room at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto before sitting down at his stall ahead of that night’s game.
When a couple of reporters pivoted in his direction — recording devices, microphones and cameras in hand — Thompson was happy to answer a couple of questions after peeling off a few pieces of equipment.
That’s far from the norm.
While there’s no official NHL policy, the vast majority of teams don’t make their netminders available to media in the hours before games.
The puck-stoppers will usually trudge off the ice, backs to any press interlopers in their sphere — a member of a club’s communications staff might linger nearby to ensure the cone of silence is maintained — before shuffling into another part of the locker room away from prying eyes.
“You don’t want any negativity around you,” Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck explained. “You don’t need that creeping into your game. You don’t want to overthink things. You just want to go and play. I feel like talking too much builds random stress levels, random expectations for a game that just aren’t necessary.
“Staying out of that keeps me free, keeps my mind relaxed.”
Elvis Merzlikins of the Columbus Blue Jackets said goalies are “living in their own world” before suiting up.
“You want to just be left alone,” said the netminder. “You don’t even communicate so much with teammates. We are just focusing, thinking what you need to do. Prepare your gear, prepare all things for the game, and then after the game, you can really talk.”
Teams in Canadian markets and larger U.S. centres tend to keep goalies off limits — the Edmonton Oilers are an outlier.
Their netminders are sometimes available in the morning, but not always. Stuart Skinner, who was traded earlier this season, came up through the organization and was comfortable in those situations, including the pressure-packed Stanley Cup final.
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Thompson, meanwhile, followed the crowd and didn’t talk before games when he first entered the league.
“I used to be pretty superstitious,” he said. “But now nothing really matters until (puck drop). This isn’t going to get in my head, whether I talk to the media or not.”
Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger, with only a handful of reporters following his team on a daily basis, also has no issue chatting in the morning.
“It’s usually like 10 minutes,” he said. “Doesn’t really bug me much.”
Oettinger, however, added that if he faced what good friend and Maple Leafs counterpart Joseph Woll does in Toronto, that tune might change.
“I don’t blame him for taking a break,” he said.
Goaltenders largely not talking on game days has been around for a while, but it wasn’t always the case.
Martin Brodeur, a three-time Stanley Cup champion and the NHL’s all-time wins leader, used to famously hold court at his locker after morning skates.
But Patrick Roy, who had a similar resume, preferred to keep quiet.
“I liked to be focused on my games,” he said. “I didn’t feel like I needed to talk in the morning. I’d rather talk after games. It’s just about the focus and making sure you’re ready for your game. That’s all.”
Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros was unaware that not speaking after a morning skate was an option when he got to the league.
“I didn’t really know any better,” he said. “I was just fine with it.”
Maple Leafs defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson doesn’t have an issue with players and coaches having to answer questions in the morning while goalies stay silent.
“Different position, they prepare a little bit different,” he said. “It comes down to being the best version of yourself.”
Thompson, meanwhile, was playfully asked at the end of his scrum in Toronto last week if he would share his views on pre-game banter with other goaltenders.
“I’ll let them know,” he said with a smile. “But everyone’s different, right? I feel like I used to be really uptight, and I feel like I’m having more fun.
“You play better when you’re more relaxed.”
EXTRA WORK
The Los Angeles Kings lost 4-3 in overtime to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday — an NHL-record 33rd time the club has played beyond 60 minutes this season — with one date left on the schedule Thursday.
Playoff-bound L.A. has won just 22 of 81 contests in regulation, and has dropped 20 games that have gone to OT or a shootout.
Thompson’s Capitals, meanwhile, finished with 37 regulation victories and will miss the post-season.
BOWNESS ERUPTS
Blue Jackets interim head coach Rick Bowness exploded following Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to the Capitals, a disappointing result that came after the team had been eliminated from playoff contention and capped a 2-8-1 stretch to close out the schedule.
“All you gotta do is look at the stats … three hits, 23 giveaways,” said the emotional bench boss. “I don’t know if I’m back (next season), but if I’m back, I’m changing this culture. These guys, they don’t care.
“Losing is not important enough to them. It doesn’t bother them.”
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