#i was having a hard time watching cbj like even when they came here it was easier

[snapbackslide]

glad to see i'm not the only one who thinks heineman is very lehkonen-coded 😭

[puckngrind]

What’s In a Name: 5 - J. Toews

Chapter 5

Where we left off: Jon and the Blackhawks won the 2015 Stanley Cup and he elects to celebrate with Bekah at home vs. going out on the town.

Warnings: smut, language

Word Count: 3,405  (felt way longer when I wrote it)

Series Masterlist ) Puck ‘n Grind’s masterlist

Titles.

It’s hard to title something when you just don’t know what to call it or admit to it honestly. Bekah loved watching Jon and his team regain the title of champions. It gave him this energy as they enjoyed the time they spent together. Bekah was nervous when Jon told her his family was going to come over. They decided having dinner in was better than out since the entire city was electrified after the win. With that his family came over for dinner the night after the win but everyone kept the conversation more to the week’s plans of celebrating and not Jon and Bekah’s connection. Bekah wondered if Jon asked them not to discuss it or was it just not an issue for them? She observed the Toews family more than anything.

A phone call changed all that was planned when Bekah had to leave before the city celebrations for the cup. Jon knew he couldn’t beg her to stay when her boss called needing her back early and gave her the vacation days back times two. Bekah promised to use them all on him as she kissed him hard before heading into Midway and back to Ohio. Her presence was missed as he hoisted the cup for the thousands of fans who lined the streets and packed into Soldier Field. With so many eyes on him he really only wanted hers right there next to him. Then just like that he was back home in Winnipeg and their text and phone conversations continued like normal.

By the end of the summer, Jon and Bekah were laying in bed in his Chicago home when they decided just not to label it. The months between her leaving after the cup and his training camp starting they found a few times to see each other. He made a couple trips to Columbus on the way to or from vacations and work requirements. Bekah found herself on a plane a few times for a weekend in Chicago when he was there. He mentioned his days with the cup but then dropped it after she started talking about a major project. He also wondered if the spotlight of his career was part of it. He never spoke the words to her but it was almost constantly in the back of his mind. They enjoyed the time together but their lives didn’t quite mesh once the season started and they both knew it.

What the two couldn’t deny was that the sex was amazing and the friendship they built was different than any relationship they had with anyone else. Bekah was a complete open book with Jon. He knew the completely unfiltered Bekah even more than her own family or even Brynn. Jon confided in her in ways even he was shocked by sometimes. She wasn’t caught up in the fame of his world and venting about all of it seemed easier with her. Yet, at the end of the day, being in a defined relationship just wasn’t realistic so they decided friendship was perfectly fine.

Finding time throughout the season was rough. It added to the fact that a friendship would be the only thing that would work. Bekah had a big project for Christmas and Jon had the flu during All-star break. The timing just didn’t work and the tension was felt by both once the end of the season rolled in.

Jon: are you coming to the game tonight?

The Blue Jackets were playing the Blackhawks and Bekah was already at Brynn’s waiting for her to go.

Bekah: Maybe...

Jon: are you wearing your CBJ sweater or mine?

Bekah: I said maybe, Tae.

Jon: I know you are coming. I just need to know if I need to look for that stupid thirds sweater or the far superior one you own.

Bekah pulls her lip into her teeth to contain the smile.

Jon: that’s mine. I think you know what I’m hoping to see 😉

“That’s Jon isn’t it?” Brynn emerged from her bedroom with her self-deemed lucky Blue Jackets sweatshirt on. “Are you telling him you are betraying our friendship and wearing that?” Brynn’s face contorts looking at her best friend in a Blackhawks jersey curled up on her couch.

“Rin!” Bekah huffs out.

“What? Our team....excuse me, my team needs as much cheering as possible. It’s been a rough season and today is our last game and Chicago already made the playoffs,” she gives her bestie a sly smile, “but I get it.” Brynn flutters around her home before finally getting in Bekah’s car.

Bekah’s phone buzzes as her and Brynn enter Nationwide Arena.

Jon: I’m skating during warmups but I’m a healthy scratch. Just don’t want you to worry.

Bekah cusses and Brynn looks over and mouths what?

“Well, maybe I should have worn something else?” Bekah flashes the text to Brynn as they walk.

“Greeeeaaattt. They are resting him because this game doesn’t matter. He will be in the press box then.” Brynn points up as they stand at the top of their section.

Warmups start and Bekah crosses her legs tight when Jon’s eyes meet hers. It had been months since the two saw each other in person and while she thought the desire to be under him was gone, by the look on both of their faces you could tell that just wasn’t true.

“You two are eye fucking each other with an audience.” Brynn whispers into Bekah’s ear.

“What? No. Rin. We are friends.” Bekah feels the flush coming to her cheeks.

“Friendship my ass...” Brynn says under her breath as the teams skate off.

Jon: I can see you, Beks

Bekah: what? When you were on the ice?

Jon: Now. I might be in the rafters but you are in a sea of blue with my jersey on. Still looks smokin’ hot on you.

Jon: from every angle 😉

Jon sends a picture of Bekah and Brynn from his seat. Bekah turns around and looks up. She can see the top of his head leaning out the box.

Bekah: I see you too.

Jon: Can I see you tonight please?

Bekah: I guess.

Jon: I’ll meet you in the lobby after the game.

“I’m guessing I’m riding home with Derek?” Brynn leans into Bekah at the end of the game.

“Yeah.” Bekah feels the warmth return to her cheeks.

The game ended and Bekah found herself standing in the Blackhawks team hotel’s lobby waiting for Jon. Pacing and attempting to take in the surroundings. She was glad she had a decent t-shirt on under her jersey because looking like a fan girl waiting for the team was not a look she was going for. Especially after how long it had been since she was face to face with Jon without plexiglass between them.

“Hey Beks.” Jon’s voice whispers from behind her. She jumps and turns.

“Tae! Long time, no see.” She goes to hug him and he catches her lips in his with his hands on her face. Releasing her face he slides one of his hands into hers and leads Bekah up to his room.

Jon pinned her to the door as he locked it in place. “Sorry I didn’t play tonight.” Jon sucks on the spot behind Bekah’s ear.

“Sorry your team didn’t win.” Bekah laughs as she runs her hands up the inside of his suit coat. Pulling at his shirt.

“Well it looked like your team lost from your outfit choice. Speaking of, where is it?” Jon pulls his finger along the collar of Bekah’s shirt.

“In my car. Didn’t want to seem like a fan girl waiting for you in the lobby or...what do they call the girls who just want to sleep with the players?”

“Bunnies. And damnit Beks, you are not any of those things that’s for sure.” Jon lifts Bekah up by her thighs and she whimpers.

“It’s been awhile Jon...” Bekah whispers in his ear her voice unsteady.

“I know. I’ve missed you and this.” He doesn’t let up pressing her against the door.

“I mean you are the last man I’ve slept with.” Bekah admits biting at her lip. Jon leans back to look her in the eyes. Her hazel green eyes looking for something.

“You think you aren’t the last woman I’ve been with?” Jon kisses her lips then pulls back making sure she’s hearing the words he’s saying. “Beks. I’ve only slept with you since the All-Star game in 15.”

“Seriously? But we aren’t...” Jon kisses her lips in desperation.

“Beks. Yes.” He kisses her again and she moans in his mouth. “Can we please get undressed? I’ve been fantasizing about this moment for way too long.” Jon carries Bekah to the bed and undresses her slowly. Taking time to praise her body and kiss every inch of exposed skin. Bekah does the same as he hovers above her. Loving the way that Jon’s muscles tighten under her touch. The connection between them is undeniable. Words no longer needed to find the perfect spot. The night is long and slow taking their time and enjoying each climax together.

“When does your playoff games start?” Bekah whispered as Jon spooned her.

“Uh...in a few days.” Jon kisses the shell of her ear. “Can we talk about this?” Jon’s fingers graze the left side of Bekah’s rib cage where the words Always yours were tattooed in a half cursive half print text. “This is definitely new.”

“Oh, um....yeah. I got a tattoo. Do you hate it?” Bekah’s fingers find Jon’s and interlaces hers with his as he continues to rub over the words.

“I like it. What’s it mean? If you want to share.” Jon pulls Bekah’s body further into his.

“I found an old birthday card from my grandpa around Christmas. He use to always sign my cards always yours, Gramps. That’s his handwriting.” Bekah spoke softly.

“That’s really special Beks. I’m just surprised you didn’t tell me.” Jon kisses her temple.

“You were thinking you were dying of the flu then pissed you sat out a game because of said flu. And then I wasn’t sure how to bring it up. Oh hey. If we ever have sex again I have a tat.” Bekah winces bringing back her thoughts that have plagued her brain for most of the beginning of 2016.

“Well I’ve been thinking the same thing about if we’d be here again honestly. Minus the new ink part of course.” Jon admitted.

Their conversation continued until both fell asleep with their bodies intertwined. The next morning Jon was sitting on the bed when Bekah woke up.

“Babe, we gotta get going. I have a bus then plane to catch.” His lips graze hers.

“Sorry. Someone kept me up all night.” She stretches out her arms and wraps them around his neck.

“Yeah, wasn’t as tired just watching the game.” Jon chuckles. “Let’s get ya to your car and I’ll see you in a few weeks?”

The Blackhawks playoff run was short lived. They lost in seven. Bekah picks up her phone at the end of game 7.

Bekah: Text when you want to talk.

A few hours later she got a response.

Jon: Thanks Beks.

She didn’t hear from him all week and she didn’t text him again trying to give him space. Brynn tried to get her to go out for drinks after work but all Bekah wanted to do was curl up and watch mindless television. Pulling into her parking spot she noticed a man in the car next to her. Not really looking she got her bag and headed towards her door.

“Beks?” Jon’s voice echoed off the wall. She slowly turned around to see Jon standing with a bag slung over his shoulder about 10 yards from her.

“Holy shit! What are you doing here?” Bekah clutched her chest realizing how startled he made her.

“Uh...I went to the airport to head home and changed my ticket.” Jon closes the distance.

“And you didn’t think to tell me?” She smacks at his chest and he captures her hand in place. “I haven’t heard from you since Monday.” Her eyes meet his and they were soft but intense.

“Sorry.” Was all he said but his face said there was more.

“Come in. If I knew you were coming I would have stocked my fridge for ya.” Bekah turns the key and they both kick off their shoes. Jon removes his bag and places it on the bench next to the entryway.

“It’s okay. We can order in or go out or whatever.”

“How long are you staying?” Bekah heads back to her room and Jon trails behind her sitting on her bed as she heads to the closet.

“Monday morning flight. I have some things to take care of at home. Plus Mom wants to celebrate my birthday.”

“Oh when is your birthday? I don’t think you’ve ever told me.” Bekah leans out of her closet pulling on one of Jon’s old shirts she kept.

“Um...today.” Jon admits.

“Jonathan Bryan Toews...TODAY is your birthday! Well we are going out for dinner. Hold on.” Bekah returns to her closest and finds a dress that is flirty but not too fancy and re-emerges.

“Damn Beks. I don’t think I’ve seen you in a dress before.” Jon stands and wraps her up in his arms.

“Well, we don’t exactly see each other with clothes on frequently.” Bekah smirks up at him.

“True. So where are you taking me?” Jon kisses her lightly.

“Hmmmm. Oh! The Guild House! It’s newer and I’ve never been. Plus I’m sure your face can get us in if there is a wait.” Bekah rubs Jon’s freshly shaved face and pats. “28 looks good on ya Tae.”

“Thanks Babe, I’m starving. Let’s go.” Jon pulls Bekah under his arm and the two make their way to the Short North.

Dinner was easy and they easily slipped back into their comfortable rhythm. Bekah got annoyed when Jon refused to let her see or pay for the bill. He just laughed it off.

“I know why you love this city.” Jon looks around as the they made their way back to his rental. “It’s a big city but feels very small town too.”

“Best of both worlds really.” Bekah smiles watching Jon explore a part of the city he’s never been. “Chicago is amazing but you know that.”

“Yeah.” Jon breathes out as they reach the car.

By the time they hit Bekah’s door their need for each other was felt. Jon presses his body against Bekah and wraps his arm around her abdomen holding her it him as she struggles to get the key in the door. His breath hot on her neck. “Tae, you are getting birthday sex just let me get the door open please!” She looked up at him as his eyes danced.

“Birthday sex eh?” He let his hand go from her stomach and backs up a little.

“Go ahead and head to my room. I need some water. Need anything?” Bekah kisses him.

“Only you.” Jon smirks and kisses her forehead as he retreats to her room. Bekah felt the blush in her cheeks as she got a glass of ice water and walked into her room. Jon was comfortably laying in his boxer briefs and carefully moved her larger colorful pillows off the bed. “Those are new yes?” He eyes the pile and back to Bekah who was placing the water on her nightstand.

“Yes. They usually take of up that side of the bed.” She points where Jon is laying. And his eyebrow shoots up but he doesn’t say anything as Bekah pulls her dress over her head and climbs in next to Jon. He kisses her with his hand holding her in place. She breaks for air. “Do you trust me?”

“With everything Beks.” He whispers and she wiggles out of his grip, toes over to her dresser and opens her top dresser drawer pulling out one of his ties. “How do you have that?” His eyebrow raises.

“It’s yours. You left it at one point.” She smirks climbing in and straddling Jon. She leans down and kisses him hard. His breath hitches. “Ready birthday boy? No touching.” He nods and she ties the tie around his eyes. Kissing down his chest she eyes her water and reaches for a piece of ice. Lightly touching it to Jon’s chest.

“Woah. Fuck. That’s cold Babe.” He jumps and she laughs.

“My hockey man doesn’t like the cold? Odd...” she moves the ice down the center of his chest and his muscles retract in it’s wake. Jon mumbles something above her head. “You good there Tae?” He nods his head and Bekah takes in his clenched jaw and hands tightly gripped on pillow. Tracing his abs with the ice she licks and kisses the trail. Jon panting and his hips jolt up. Bekah hums as she works her way to his waistband and she slowly pulls down his briefs settles her self between his legs. Placing the remaining ice in her mouth she starts kissing up his thigh then kisses his tip. Jon jolts and swears as she slides her mouth over him.

“Damn that’s so hot but also very fucking cold Beks.” Jon huffs out. “Can I touch you yet?” He’s breathless with his request.

“Is that what the birthday boy wants?” She licks up his length and takes in how unglued he has become under her.

“Yes. Very much so.” She slides up his body and loosens the tie. Jon grabs her hand and removes it while leaning up to kiss her. “My turn!” He grunts and flips Bekah onto the mattress. Removing her bra and panties with ease, Jon eyes Bekah’s glass. He pulls an ice cube from it and places the cube in his mouth. Starting at her nipples, Bekah’s body jolts with the sensation. Jon hums in the satisfying way she moves under him. He drops the ice cube between her breast and follows with his tongue as it slides down her body then keeps going down to her core. Sucking hard eliciting moans with every move he makes. Forgetting the ice on her navel, Jon moves his body back up and kisses Bekah passionately as he slides deep inside her. Finally letting go of their built up highs and praising each other as they come down from the overstimulation.

“Happy birthday Captain.” Bekah breathes out trying to catch her breath.

“Maybe I would call you Captain after that Beks.” Jon laughs as he kisses her temple.

“Funny Tae.” She buries her face in his chest. “I’m gonna need to change the sheet. You melted an ice cube on my stomach.” Bekah giggles as she feels the wet below her hip.

“Or just roll over.” Jon moves her body with ease and kisses the top of her head as she’s on his chest. “Come to Sedona with me this summer.” Jon whispers.

“What?” She says in his chest.

“We’ve both talked about how we love hiking and well...I have a trip planned before Worlds...and you should come with me.”

“Uh...Jon.” Bekah sits up and slides off him.

“Yes Beks.” His voices is soft as he brushes her hair out of her face.

“Jon, what are we?” Bekah leans further away from him to look deep into his brown eyes.

“What kind of question is that?” Jon’s nose scrunches up.

“Well we clearly are friends.” Bekah starts.

“Yes, the best of.” Jon finds her hand and intertwines his fingers wiggling them.

“And the sex is amazing...” Bekah closes her eyes with that unfinished statement.

“I fully concur.” Jon moans to verify his agreement.

“But what do you call this? What’s it’s title?” She motions between them.

“Does it need a name Babe?” Jon kisses her lips.

“I mean...We just...I don’t know Tae. I guess no.” Bekah huffs out.

“So back to my original question. Sedona....end of June? Yes?” Jon nudges her.

“Sounds doable.” Bekah laughs

“Doable huh? You know what’s doable?” Jon moves on top of her with a look that tells her she’s in for it.

“Poor choice of words I guess.” Jon laughs and dips down below the sheets. “Or not.”

[bqstqnbruin]

Can I ask for 15 and 20 from the Angst list for Josh Anderson please!! :You don't get to just waltz back into my lofe after all the pain you've caused." "Don't look at me like that. like what? like you still love me."

15. “What gives you the right to just waltz back into my life after all the pain you’ve caused.”

20. “Don’t look at me like that.” “Like what?” “Like you still love me.”

Y’all are wicked angsty over Josh which I totally understand but wow, but him and PLD are literally the only two CBJs I know/knew so sorry for using them both again 

Send me a boy and a number from this prompt list!

You were still close with the guys, even after Josh got traded. They assured that you never change if you and him broke up. That meant you were invited out with them after games still, you were still in the WAGs group chat, you were part of family skate and everything.

Originally, you and Josh had promised each other that you would wait two years and see if you were in a comfortable enough place to move to Montreal that you would get back together. That was until you say him posting about his new girlfriend, captioning his Instagram posts saying that he was ‘head over heels in love with her’ and that ‘she was the only one for him.’ 

And what did you expect? It was unrealistic for you to expect him to wait for you. But you didn’t expect him to move on after six months in a new city. 

“Are you still coming as my date?” Pierre-Luc asked you over the phone. One of his teammates was getting married the next day. You were originally supposed to be going with Josh, but look how that turned out. Since Luc needed a date anyway, he figured you might as well go with him since you already had the dress and were already on the list to attend. 

“Yeah, are you giving me any other choice?” 

“No. I’ll pick you up at 11.” 

-------

He knocked on your door when you only had one shoe on. He said he would be at your place at 11, so why the hell was he early? If anything, Luc was annoyingly on time. “I’m coming!” you yell, clomping to the door with one heel on, throwing the door open, “You said 11.” But it wasn’t Pierre-Luc standing in the door. “Josh?”

“Hey, Y/N,” he says awkwardly, running his hand through his hair.

“What are you doing here?”

“Taking you to the wedding,” he replies as if it were obvious. 

“No,” you start, walking over to your couch to put your shoe on, “I’m going with Pierre-Luc. I haven’t talked to you in nearly seven months. Shouldn’t you be taking your girlfriend?” You didn’t know what came over you in that moment, but seeing him standing there after no contact for so long was making you irrationally angry. 

“I don’t have a girlfriend,” he mutters, not loud enough for you to hear. He doesn’t move from the doorway, standing there as if there were some sort of barrier preventing him from coming in. You hear the elevator open from down the hall, Pierre-Luc getting off and heading your way. You stick your head out, giving him a look that said you didn’t know how to get out of the current situation. 

“Y/N, come on,” Luc says, pulling you past Josh and shutting your door behind you, ignoring his old teammate as if they didn’t spend the last few years as close friends. “Why is he here?” he asks once the elevator door shuts.

You shrug, “I don’t know. I didn’t know he was coming.”

“Do you need me to pretend to be your boyfriend?” he offers.

You laugh, knowing Josh would never buy that. You and Pierre were like siblings, nothing more, “No, that’s fine. We couldn’t pass as dating anyway.”

“Fine, but if you need me to come sweep you off your feet, I’m your guy.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” 

The two of you get to the wedding, avoiding Josh at all costs. Apparently, none of his old teammates knew he was going to be there, all of them showing the same shocked expression when they saw him that you had when he showed up at your door. 

The reception was getting into a good rhythm, you sitting off to the side as you watched everyone dancing. Pierre-Luc was no where to be found, but you didn’t mind. 

Until Josh came and pulled you off your feet to dance, not listening to your protests. “This is kidnapping.”

“You’re an adult and we need to talk to each other.”

“Josh, I tried to talk to you. And then you found a girl in Montreal and it was like I didn’t exist,” you spit at him as he spins you around. The music playing around you, the energy of the room didn’t fit the conversation you were having. “What gives you the right to just waltz back into my life after all the pain you’ve caused me? You should be here with your girlfriend, and that’s not me anymore.”

He bites his lip, looking down at your feet moving together. “I broke up with her.” 

You don’t know what to say, studying his face.  “Don’t look at me like that,” you tell him. 

“Like what?” 

“Like you still love me.”

“Y/N, you have to know I still love you,” he tries hard not to scream it for the entire venue to hear. “I never loved that girl.” 

“You’re so full of shit,” is all you can say, dropping his hands from your body and walking away to find your real date so you could be with him instead. 

[albuspottrss]

Hpcc part two recap from January Third

The scorpion king spends a lot of time anxiously fiddling with his robes, he doesn’t know what to do with himself :(

Craig!Karl did an excellent high kick as he ran over to the scorpion king (probs to try and impress him ;))

Luke!Yann was making intense eye contact with the scorpion king as he checked whether they were ;) still ;) on ;) for ;) tonight

Yann and Karl do a very enthusiastic chant on “VOLDEMORT”

Lola!Polly pointing out as she spelt f a c t and then doing a very dramatic hair flick

“Taking to the ball” Lola was bobbing up and down like an excited penguin

“Oh Potter” was followed by the loudest “eurghhhhhh” ever like she was genuinely disgusted

“The future is ours to make” she waved her hands in the air and did a dramatic little squeal

As the staircases went off Lola!Polly collapsed down on the stairs and fanned herself after her moment with the scorpion king

The scene in Dracos office is always super super intense with Jon!Scorpius. He gets worked up very quickly, he simply cannot believe his father would be responsible for all these cruel things and he’s learnt to not bottle up how he feels anymore and he just explodes- very similarly to the library scene :(

After getting his head slammed on the table Jon kinda stays there sobbing for a bit, he’s so broken at this awful world he’s found himself in

Draco finds himself crying and fiddling with his wedding ring at the mention of Astoria and hurridly busys himself with tidying his desk as a distraction

Both of the boys were incredibly emotional and crying as they spoke about Scorpius’s mother 🥺

Draco comes to give his son a reassuring tap on the chest, but Scorpius fully flinches himself away from him, he is so scarred by the violent way his father treated him moments ago and doesn’t feel safe

When Jon mentions Albus he got all choked up on the line “my best friend” as if he knew that it was very likely he wouldn’t ever get to see him again

When Hermione whipped her wand out at him Scorpius was so panicked and fell to the floor in terror, he’s so scared and as Hermione is on top of him he lies there shaking and twitching his foot, he’s so scared of the pain that might be inflicted on him :( - which makes the torture scene and the crucios later on so much worse

Scorpius tried to point out to Ron that his wands the wrong way round

I cannot remember for the life of me what was going on here but I have in my notes “Tom reaching out his hands and jazz handing at the dementors” and I felt like that needed to be shared

Scorpius took the biggest gulp before going into the lake, he knows the fate of the world relies on him

I adore how excited Dombus is about seeing a mermaid and then he dramatically re-enacts the ‘pincers’ and flails his arms around dramatically

The lake hug is one of the cutest hugs ever they’re both just so happy to see each other and hug so tight 🥺

Jon whacked the tie into the pool with such force it splashed Dom so hard

Draco imitates the awkward way Scorpius says ‘hello dad’ so sassily with a little wave

Dombus tries so hard to pretend like he’s got no idea what the time turner is - he’s not a good liar ;)

In trouble again! Had some great moments including but not limited to Luke!Yannns iconic staircase cartwheel parkour display, and Rayxia shouting at Ronnie to “go that wayyyyy”

Draco is such a little suck up to Mcgonagall, he sticks his hand up and proudly says “seems fairrrr” he can’t help himself but be a teachers pet

On the stairs when RGW finds out she didn’t exist Ryan!James does the most reassuring shoulder pat, we stan supportive cousins

Doms reply of “no” after the are you okay is so broken and hurt and lost

Albus is properly snuggled up in the slytherin dorm scene, until Scorpius crawls out of bed and gets right round in his face to shout and wake him up

“Malfoy the unanxious” Jon puts his hands on his hips and looks so proud of himself 🥺

“I’m not sure being fearless is good for your health” on fearless Dom mocked Scorpius’s confident movements and it’s the cutest thing

Jon then sat down on the bed next to Albus as they had their little heart to heart, and Scorpius kept hugging his knees, there was a lot of touching going on here between the boys too

Albus tucks himself back into bed, ready for a good nights sleep before Scorpius ruins that chance

Ronnie!Cbj looked so worried when he realised scorbus were missing, we stan one prefect in training, he gave a determined nod at his orders from Minnie G and ran off as fast as he could

The owlery Scorpius drapes his legs down the stairs and has his hand resting right behind Albus leaning in super close

“A much underestimated part of modern witchcraft”- Scorpius then gave Albus a little nudge and it was super cute

Dombus gets very emotional when describing what the dark au was like :(( he thinks it’s all his fault

Scorpius was crouching as far away from Delphi as possible he was clearly very frightened of her :((

Michelle!Hermione was blushing so hard at the “I bloody love you” and giggling like a little girl as she tapped on Tom!Rons chest

Joward!Draco was full on shaking his head at Rons revelation of Albus and his ‘older girlfriend’ like he knew it couldn’t be true since it’s clear Albus is in love with his own son

After Ron messes up Scorpius’s name and calls him “scrupius” Joward angrily shouted “SCORPI” But got cut off before he could say scorpius and just ended up venting out scorpi and it was very sweet

Scorpius flinched as soon as the wand was pointed at him :(((

After Delphi turns to Scorpius, Albus screamed “NO, no PLEASE NO”

Dombus charges forward at Delphi on the first crucio, hes so desperate to try and save his friend, and when he gets stopped he writhes on the floor in pain but trying to get up and save Scorp

Jon collapses on the floor completly broken after the first crucio, everytime a wand had been pulled at him since the dark au hes flinched, afraid at what awful spell will come out of the wand- I think this is because he’s always been so enfatuated with magic, he loves it and all the clever ways it can be used to help people, but then he sees the horrors it can cause in the dark world and truly appreciates how the awful things it can do, and everytime a wand gets drawn on him he’s terrified, if he could use those awful spells in a situation like that then surely anyone could, and then it finally happens, hes tortured and it breaks him because he knows that another version of himself was using it on innocent people

Before the maze Luke was giving the biggest cheers and Gordon was waving his slytherin scarf around like a windmill

Act Four

In the second EGM there were several shouts of “SHAME” and “ridiculous!”

When Ron stepped up to defend his friends but said he had no idea what was going on everyone clapped

Scorpius nearly started tearing up when they mentioned Ceeby :(

Albus grabbed Scorpius’s hand (once again) to drag him along to godrics hollow :))

Lola waved at Luke after they put the pumpkins down and they did the biggest grin at each other and swunggggg their hands together as they exited :))

When hiding from bathilda bagshot Albus ran the furthest I’ve ever seen him run and had absolutely nowhere to hide so just stood by the wall at the front of the stage with his arms crossed and his head down trying his best to not look toooo suspicious (hint: it didn’t work)

Whilst watching his grandparents, Albus and Scorpius were stood super close together, Albus so happy he’s seeing his grandparents, Scorpius wanting to be as close to Albus as possible to make sure he’s okay

Both of the adorable little nerds were jumping up and down after seeing Bathilda Bagshot

Jamie!Harry is still sobbing over his interaction with Dumbledore and awkwardly turns away when Draco walks in because he doesn’t want to show how vulnerable he really is and puts on a brave face to the world

Joward!Dracos awkward laugh at this office will soon be mine is everything. “Hahahahah. Ha.”

Draco was getting very emotinal about Astoria and the blood malediction

Audience: all decide that this is the perfect moment to have a coughing fit

Albus speaks of his grandma with so much admiration and love

Scorbus are so excited about their plans, Dom grabbed Jons shoulders in pure excitement before realising it wouldn’t work

They both mime out the cot and standing over the baby and when Albus shouts “helpppppppp” dead seriously, he started jazz handing before they both collapsed into laughter at how stupid it was

If you’ve seen Doms Albus you’ll know what I’m on about but the pause after Scorpius says “I’d choose you” hes sooooo touched, and so happy about it that he’s literally speechless, and then he starts to open his mouth to say, ‘I’d choose you too” but then in true awkward Albus style he panics last minute and makes the joke about it but it’s so cute and you can see Scorpius knows that he would choose him too

Jon!Scorp listens so intensely to what Albus has to say, even when he has no idea what is going on, he wants to support him and bounces up and down with Albus because he knows he’s super clever and just needs the encouragement!

Tom!Ron leaning in for a hug after the “you’ve got really nice hair Draco” and Joward being super sassy and turning away

Scorpius ran away from Draco when he came towards him, he’s still haunted by the dark world :(

But then they leaned in for the hug and it lasted foreverrrrr neither of them wanted to let go and when they finally broke apart Joward started holding Jons cheeks 🥺

Albus and Ginny’s hug was super cute as always and then Albus kept his arm wrapped around ginny long after she broke apart

Susie and Jamie are the perfect Hinny, in the church they have a beautiful heart to heart and the they lean in together so that their foreheads are touching and it’s the cutest thing ever

Scorpius is glowing after being referred to as like Hermione, it means so much to him to be referred to the girl who was “the brightest witch of her age” and the current minister for magic

Scorpius does not want his dad to volunteer to be voldemort he’s shaking his head and trying to protect him in case something goes wrong and he loses the last member of his only family :(

After the suggestion of ‘zaPping” Delphi, Draco makes zapping hand actions before he can stop himself and then looks at his hands in absolute disgust

Albus steps in front of his dad when Draco makes a comment, he’s so desperate to protect him

There was a lot of reassuring holding going on with Scorbus as Albus watches his dad turn into voldemort :(

When Ron and Scorpius are looking out for Delphi, they were having a conversation and then Jon made binoculars with his hands to mime his being on the lookout

Dombus takes Harry’s wand away during Lily and James and just holds Jamie’s hand 🥺

Draco was stroking Scorpius’s head :((

Yolly did another hand hold as they walked across the stage and Lola!Polly was giggling :))

Jon says “oh yeah right” after the mention of Rose after their hug so quickly and confused, Rose is literally the last thing on Scorpius’s mind right then bless him

Jamie!Harry did a large shudder before muttering out “pigeons!!”

Jamie!Harry did the biggest laugh at Albus’s pigeon racing joke and it was reallyyyyy sweet

And that’s it on my notes there but I hope it managed to give you some dombus and scone feels and plenty of scorbus 🥺💚 cast four are really something special and I loveeee writing about them so sorry these notes are rather long haha :)

[mariss-lyn]

king of my heart: ch.1

so this is a new story i previewed a while back on my page and the first chapter is finally here! i am already annoyingly invested in this series (this is becoming a series even if no one wants to read it) and i’ve started a playlist for it as well!! i can drop apple music/spotify links if anyone is interested. 

ANYWAYS. this was not requested, just something i was messing around with while texting @marissafalls one day and i rolled with it. the first chapter ended up being 2k words soooooo. it revolves around ryan murray, but will have mention of other players on the team.

mentions: other cbj players, alcohol

warnings: cursing, drinking

feedback is always greatly appreciated and encouraging so feel free to to flood my inbox :-) 

“I hate every part of this.”  

This was not how I spent Saturday nights. I spent them at home, in my sweatpants, eating ice cream and talking to my mom on the phone. Sometimes I’d be at a game, in the suites with a couple of friends from college, eating free food and taking too many pictures. But I definitely was not the bar type, or at least not at eleven o’clock at night.  

“Will you stop complaining? This is your fault anyways,” my best friend reminded me. And she wasn’t wrong. I lost a bet and this was my punishment. To be forced out of my comfort zone and have a couple of drinks out on the town.  

“Okay well I didn’t actually think he would score a goal tonight. I thought the odds were in my favor.” Becca smiled at me. “Maybe they are.”  

I rolled my eyes and patiently waited for the Uber to stop outside of some campus bar. I’d heard of it, but never visited. It wasn’t my thing. Quiet coffee shops were my thing. Libraries were my thing. Not bars where you got packed in like sardines and it was so loud, you couldn’t even order a drink without screaming. My friends and I all loaded out, Becca taking the lead, while I fell behind Eliza and Lacey.  

After the bouncer checked our ID’s, we walked in and I immediately felt anxious. There were bright lights and drunk people everywhere. I quickly followed the girls to a table in the corner, trying to just catch my breath.  

“Earth to Harper?” I snapped my head up to see the girls looking straight at me. “What?”  

Becca smiled. “Drink order? I’m gonna go to the bar.”  

“Whatever, is fine,” I mumbled. “Just a beer.” Becca squeezed my hand before she disappeared for the bar and I immediately started to dart my eyes. Taking in my surroundings. Figuring out what I got myself into.  

And that’s when I noticed them.  

They grabbed the attention of most of the bar. Tall, big boys. Hockey players. Professional hockey players.  

“Holy shit!” I heard Eliza yell. “Is that the team?” I nodded. “Some of them.” I wasn’t sure anyone heard me. I didn’t really care. I was focused on the group of guys pushing their way to the bar, right next to where my best friend was. Just mere inches from our table.  

This really was a bad idea.  

“Fuck, they’re so hot.”  

“Do you think they’re single?”  

“Would they come here if they weren’t?”  

I ignored the girls and their questions for a bit, focusing on the group. It was weird to me, seeing guys I’ve watched from afar for so long, right in front of me. I knew they went out. Word travels when you’re friends with a bunch of gorgeous girls. Friends of friends have had some experiences. But you never really expect it to happen to you. And you definitely don’t expect any of them to notice you.  

But then they do.  

“Harper, that one’s looking at you.”  

I forced myself to look away. “Lacey, they’re not zoo animals. His name is Ryan.” I knew he couldn’t hear me, but I still felt nervous. Like somehow he’d only hear his name and know where it came from. My face was hot and my heart was racing. God, they really were beautiful.  

“Harper, go talk to them!” I swung my head to look at Eliza. “Are you crazy? Why would I go talk to them?”  

Eliza smiled. “Because Ryan is looking at you, not us.” 

“The air quotes are not necessary, E. That’s his actual name.”  

I looked back up at the group and noticed Becca coming back with our drinks. I grabbed the Corona she ordered for me and downed half of it in one sip. I could feel the girls watching me as I set the bottle down.  

“Are you okay?” I shook my head. “No. I need a water.”  

I stepped off the bar seat and stepped closer to the bar, squeezing in between a very pretty blonde girl and Boone Jenner. I patiently waited for the bartender to notice me, trying to just be cool. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself, so I didn’t move much. I could feel three sets of eyes watching me intently from behind, but I couldn’t turn around. I kept myself facing forward, trying not to eavesdrop. Until I felt Boone step away and someone else fill his spot.  

“Is he ignoring you?”  

I turned to my right slowly, my eyes coming to land on a pair of stunning brown eyes. Could brown eyes be stunning? Brown eyes were always ignored. Every country song was about blue eyes, sometimes green. But never brown. I always felt offended myself, having brown eyes, and I wondered if anyone found them stunning.  

Not now, Harper. Jesus.  

“I’m sorry?” I asked. “Who?” 

Ryan smiled. Oh fuck did he smile. “The bartender. Did you need something?”  

I nodded. “Oh! Just a water. It’s no big deal. I can wait.” He turned his body toward me now, and I noticed his friends had disappeared, surrounding the table my friends were occupying. How convenient.  

Ryan extended his hand. “Ryan.” I smiled and took it in mine. “I’m Harper. Great game tonight.”  

He nodded. “Thank you. Were you there?” Now it was my turn to nod. “I was. It’s actually your fault I’m standing at the bar tonight.”  

Ryan started laughing. “Why’s that?”  

I bit my lip. “I made a bet with my friends. If you scored, we went to the bars tonight. But if you didn’t, we ordered pizza and went home to drink.”  

“Ah well I’m sorry I ruined pizza night. Let me make it up to you with a drink.” I smiled. “You don’t have to do that. You deserved the goal. It doesn’t happen often.”  

Ryan laughed again. “Ouch, that hurts a little bit.” I laughed with him. It felt nice, and also surreal. “Wait, can I ask why it was me who had to score tonight? There are plenty of other guys you could’ve chosen from.” 

I swallowed hard and shifted a little. “Uh, well, because you don’t score a ton of goals and you’re my favorite on the team so my friends were teasing me, I guess. That’s embarrassing. I’m sorry. You don’t need to be talking to some dumb fangirl.” 

He smiled and set his bottle on the bar. “I don’t think you’re dumb. It’s not like I have a huge group of fans in the city, or anywhere really, except maybe back home. Plus, and this is no disrespect to your friends, but my friends have lost interest and they’re going to leave that table in five minutes. I, on the other hand, have no plans of leaving here.” 

“What if we left together?” 

It left my lips before I even fully thought it through. Here I was, exposing myself as not only a fangirl, but someone who was clearly willing to leave my friends behind and go somewhere with a stranger. A hot stranger. A really fucking hot stranger. 

“Where would we go? If we left together?” 

I shrugged. “Personally I’m starving and can’t stop thinking about pizza. And I know there’s a place down the road open late. But you don’t have to leave with me. I don’t really know what I was saying.” 

“What makes you think I would rather be here than somewhere much quieter, eating pizza with you?” 

“Besides the fact that you know absolutely nothing about me?” 

Ryan smiled at me. “I know your name is Harper, and I know you hate bars like this. What’s the worst that could happen at a tiny little pizza place down the road from all of our friends?” 

I bit my lip to hide a smile. “Okay, that’s fair. I can always call Becca if you’re a huge weirdo.” He started laughing. “Can you even eat pizza? Is that part of your diet?” 

“I’ll just skate a little harder at practice on Monday. I’ll take a risk. I think it might be worth it.” 

I leaned off the bar. “I’ll grab my purse and let the girls know. Should I just tell your friends while I’m over there?” Ryan straightened up and grabbed his beer bottle again, smiling. “I’ll come with you.” I walked towards the table, Becca’s eyes burning holes in me. I wish there was time to explain to her what was happening, but I wasn’t even sure I knew what was happening. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was convinced this wasn’t even real. I’ll wake up in the morning and this will all just be a very detailed dream I had after a night on the town. 

“I’m gonna head out,” I announced but Becca was the only one listening. “I’ll see you in the morning?” She nodded. “Be safe.” I could always read Becca like a book. She thought this was a dumb idea. We were never really the girls who left the bar with a hot stranger. We showed up and left together, after a few drinks and a lot of dancing. And that was on the rare occasion we even went out. But nothing about tonight was going according to plan. 

I turned to face Ryan, who was still talking to Boone. “Please don’t act like complete idiots once I leave. I’m not coming back for you.” Boone slurred something I couldn’t even try to make out and I choked back a giggle. “I’m out. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” 

He turned to me and smiled. “Ready?” 

The Lyft ride to the pizza place was quiet, and our drive probably thought he was escorting an awkward first date around town. But it was a comfortable quiet. And usually I’d blame the drinks for how calm I was feeling with him, but I barely had half a beer, so everything was very clear to me.  Ryan was just calming. His voice and the way he carried himself. It was attractive and that was so rare to find, at least for me. And he was soft. The way he spoke about his family and his job. I felt like I could listen to him talk every minute of every day. 

“So do you come to a lot of games?” 

I smiled and shrugged. “Not as many as I’d like. I spend more time watching them from the comfort of my couch. We’ve got a friend, Eliza; she gets suite tickets a lot from work so we use those when we can.” 

Ryan smiled and took a slow sip of water. “Do you have tickets for Monday’s game?” I shook my head. “I’ll have some under your name. Lounge bands too.” 

I laughed. “Are you trying to buy my attention, Murray?” 

“Not at all. I just want to be able to see you again after tonight but my job tends to get in the way. So if you’re at a game, in the lounge, I have a better chance of seeing you when it’s over.” 

It was cute. He was cute. And I really liked the way I felt with him. He probably could’ve asked me to pick up trash with him and I’d do it. Maybe this is why I’ve never dated? “I’ll be there Monday. Who says no to free tickets?” 

The rest of the night felt so easy. It wasn’t until around 2am when I realized I should probably be heading home, brunch plans with my mother looming in the near future. I checked my watch and felt myself frown. “I should probably get going.” 

“Can I get your number?” I smiled at how rushed he asked, thankful I wasn’t the only one suffering from word vomit tonight. I took his phone from his hand and entered my number, adding a pizza emoji after my name, “Thank you for tonight, Harper. I had a lot of fun.” 

I nodded in agreement. “I did too. I kinda wanna do it again sometime.” 

We had moved to the sidewalk outside now, both waiting for our cars to show up. The air was cool, but still unseasonably warm for a late winter night in Ohio. I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself. I looked up and caught Ryan looking down at me, the cutest smile on his face. Before I could speak, a car pulled up to the curb, the car I was waiting on. I felt myself deflate, not ready to leave yet. But then I felt Ryan’s lips on my cheek and my whole body felt electric. I felt the kiss all the way in my toes and I definitely wasn’t cold anymore.  

“Good night, Harper.”  

[andrewuttaro]

New Look Sabres: GM 3 - CBJ - Brand

Columbus was the team I wanted to win it all this past Spring. I was also sure they’d lose to one of the better teams in the cap era in the Lightning but hey, this league is whacky. I think it’s part of the charm of the NHL. That postseason performance changed the Blue Jackets brand from the charming Ohio team that never won a series to the club that knocked off Tampa in four games. It was historic and unbelievable… and then most of the players who made that happen scattered to the wins. It was the nature of how that team was constructed salary cap-wise, but it was also the end. It was the end of that new brand of Columbus Hockey, over before it even really had a chance to begin. In the aftermath of the second half collapse and the Phil Housley firing we were left wondering what the brand of Sabres hockey would be going forward. When Ralph Krueger came in he talked about “instinctual hockey” that didn’t require the self-defeating levels of thinking that seemed to paralyze the club in past years. Through two games we’ve seen just how fun that brand is, conveniently just in time for the 50th Anniversary season. That’s all well and good while the team is winning but what is the Buffalo Sabres brand of Hockey actually now with Krueger at the helm? I never played the game so I don’t want to underestimate what culture and instinct and all that stuff might have to do with it but let’s talk programmatically here: What is Sabres Hockey? What are the systems and strategy here, no matter how much freedom that form may actually give the players to be creative? I’m sure we’ll come up with a better name for it but for now I’m going to call it high-pressure hockey. The forecheck makes the opposition uncomfortable. The tight passing has made most zone entries and exits a bit smoother and the word we heard echoed over and over at Training Camp: Together, is something you can actually see unfolding watching the game. I can see the social media campaigns: “Together We Hockey!” LOL! That’s some kind of beer can motto. For now let’s call it High-Pressure Hockey. This brand was put to the test in a big way for the first time in Columbus.

The first period was the roughest we’ve seen so far from this Sabres team. The untrained eye probably still sees that same brand we talked about. But underneath you can see a frustrated Jackets team imposing their will and bad analytics. The visitors trailed in both 5 on 5 shot share and 5 on 5 scoring chances. Even though the Sabres had a slight edge in expected goals you could see Columbus was playing with some anger. The statistical battle never broke back in Buffalo’s direction, but the game did. First things first, the relentless push the Blue Jackets leveled finally broke through in the last two minutes of the first. They gave us a taste of our own medicine and ran a play real fast bouncing the puck from one side to the other to behind the net where Seth Jones forwarded the puck along to Oliver Bjorkstrand who shot tight angle right behind Linus Ullmark. In the immediate aftermath Henri Jokiharju got called for tripping and CBJ was off to their first powerplay. Cam Atkinson made the low-shooting visitors pay from another assist that originated behind Ullmark’s net. If you know me you might think that’s a gentle defense of Ullmark’s goaltending. I don’t feel the need to defend him on a night he faced 44 shots. That’s a simple stat: shots ended 44-18 for Columbus. Gross. They didn’t play their brand in the first period and Kyle Okposo said as much in the intermission. Luckily the second period looked a little bit closer to the cereal we’ve quickly come to like here in Buffalo.

The response in the second was a new thing to see. @BillTCB from the Charging Buffalo put it best: the Sabres forecheck mentality was dogs on raw meat in the second period. They were fishing pucks off of skaters and pestering really hard. Is this our new brand: High Pressure hockey? Colin Miller might be one of the reasons for this new brand. He is one of those fancy new-age offensive defenseman and yet he has the puck awareness to actually play defense as well. High pressure hockey worked for for Marcus Johansson who found himself on the receiving end of a lightning-fast Miller assist on the powerplay. Johansson dove to get his stick on it and it was the perfect tap. Goal Sabres, 2-1 just 1:32 into the second period. To say the home team tried to tamp down now would be an understatement. Perhaps they felt another comeback coming and intercepted passes left and right. They got a juicy powerplay off of a Rasmus Dahlin interference against Alex Wennberg and pelted Ullmark. Again, in spite of the eventual loss I don’t think anyone should be casting blame on Ullmark tonight. On this midgame powerplay he stops an Atkinson shot from a position of falling back on his ass. The Buffalo Sabres would’ve been blown out without Linus tonight and maybe that hurts the mentality in the room endangering the brand we’re trying to speak into existence. The Sabres kept chasing this game and somehow, from the chasing stance they evened it up. CBJ defenseman Ryan Murray recovered a puck in his defensive zone and began skating toward the neutral zone when Jeff Skinner appears like a wild animal and poke checks him, strips the puck and turns around, one-on-one with Columbus goaltender Joonas Korpisalo. He dekes a little and scores. It was a kind of strip and score I’ve never seen in years of watching professional hockey. Strip and score is a dirty combination of words, ha, it felt like a dirty good play. And so the Sabres climbed back to a 2-2 tie through forty minutes.

The third period was the most uncomfortable I’ve felt so far this season. Penalty five minutes in against Rasmus Dahlin and CBJ is back on the powerplay. There was a mad scramble in front of the Sabres net that unfolded and on the replay you can see Henri Jokiharju punch panicked at a puck in the air in front of his face. That touch puts the puck right at Nick Foligno feet and he sinks it. 3-2 Jackets 6:46 into the final frame. The next equalizer seemed elusive as all get out. I think that was in large part because the Sabres shot so little this whole game but particularly in the third period. Scoring effects didn’t seem to act on them and we find ourselves in the last three minutes seeing stoppages for faceoff calls. Frustration was mounting and this just wasn’t the way I wanted the first L to come. Fortunately that faceoff call I mentioned was against noted Blue Jacket Boone Jenner. Now, in addition to an empty net, the Sabres are on the powerplay up 6-4 in manpower. Rasmus Dahlin and Victor Olofsson were passing the puck in this situation until Olofsson decided to shoot. It went straight to the net and I let out a visceral yes that started my wife really bad. Goal, Sabres. It’s hockey season again, honey. 3-3 and we’re going to OT. Now: funny thing… haha… after getting outshot and out-chanced to hell in regulation the Sabres dominated possession in the two or so minutes of overtime. Somehow, after maybe 20 seconds of possession the whole extra frame, the Jackets won the game off an Alexandre Texier goal. This first loss of the Buffalo Sabres season was 4-3 home team. That second comeback to get to the overtime and clinch a point was what made the difference for me. A 3-2 loss would’ve not been a good first loss for me but a 4-3 loss in overtime did it for me. I’ll take that and I think we’ve had a lot of fun these first three games, so I think we all take it really.

Here’s an impressive observation: In postgame Ralph Krueger admitted some fault. He said he regretted putting Eichel out too early in OT after the Captain had just had a long shift to end regulation. In any conversation of team brand the coaching is going to come into play. Krueger admitting any kind of fault publicly is a signal to his players. Jack had to feel more than a little shite seeing that overtime loss after two comebacks. Ralph knew it and took a little bit of that weight off his shoulders. A competitive guy like Eichel will always take losses hard but that kind of move from Krueger is what gets players to buy in and play the way a coach wants them to play. I’ve been watching this club for ten years now, to whatever extent Krueger and get these guys to play his system he’ll be more successful than every coach since Lindy Ruff. The Sabres have just not been good enough for all those ten years I’ve watched, and these kinds of little victories of morale and message might be strategic to finally forming a winning brand of Sabres hockey. Or maybe I’m just making a lot out of a little in the aftermath of a whole-team loss today. I don’t know, on to Montreal at home on Wednesday!

I think if I got anything out of this game it’s that the New Sabres are going to fight back hard. For years now it was a pretty solid bet that a 2-0 deficit could be fatal for this club. Tonight it wasn’t. They came back twice and very nearly escaped with the victory. Like, comment and share this blog around. It’s a fan blog which means, win or lose, we talk the fan perspective here. What is the fan perspective? It’s getting really psyched about Ralph Krueger going to bat for Eichel in postgame like I just did for one. It’s also fun crap like biggest game against. Biggest game against will debut on Wednesday against the Habs and you’ll see it for every divisional game. I’ll recount what I think is the biggest game in Sabres history against the opponent of the night and you will respond by grilling my ass in the comments with what YOU think is the biggest game against that opponent in Sabres history. We’ll see if anyone gives a hoot at all about it Wednesday night I guess! Until then crossed fingers for more shots! There certainly weren’t enough tonight! Nonetheless, Let’s Go Buffalo!

Thanks for Reading.

P.S. I saw someone tweet what a fun playoff adversary these guys would be. I don’t know, their club culture is so lovable that I’d be hard pressed to hate these guys.

[fanfics-for-the-hockey-fan]

Begin Again - Josh Anderson

Request: “I know we didn't work out then, but”.. With Josh Anderson of CBJ please

“Hayley?” I froze as at the voice I hadn’t heard in over a year. Turning around I saw the man who broke my heart. “I thought that was you. What are you doing here?”

“I just moved here, I got transferred to the accounting firm here.” I was so uncomfortable standing on the sidewalk of downtown Columbus, I had been on my way to get coffee on my way into the office. “I actually have to go, I need to get to work.”

“It’s Saturday.”

“I’m new and one of the accounts I have needs all of off their books completed by end of business Monday, I don’t want to have to rush on Monday.”

“I know you alway got coffee on your way to work, can I walk with you?” Every part of me said no, except apparently my mouth which said yes. Josh gave me a warm smile as we started to walk towards the Starbucks I had been moving towards when he had stopped me. We walked in silence the rest of the way to the coffee shop and we continued our silence as we waited in line.

Once it was my turn I order my coffee and Josh’s go to order, or at least it was when we dated. I paid and stood off to the side as I waited for our drinks to be made. “I could have paid.”

“I don’t need you to pay for my coffee. You bought me plenty of coffee when we were in Cleveland, I can buy you one in Columbus.”

“Thank you.” I nod, just as our names are called. I grab my coffee and hope that this was the end of our awkward interaction, however Josh continued to follow me. “How have you been?”

“Are we really just going to pretend that nothing happened?”

“C’mon Hayley. I know we didn’t work out then, but can’t we try again?”

“We didn’t work out? You got called up from the AHL you didn’t even bother to call me to say got here safe. I never heard from you again, I had to talk to your teammates to get my stuff back from your apartment because you wouldn’t answer my calls or text.”

“Hayley, I didn’t realize it bothered you so much.” I scoffed and started to walk away. “Wait, I’m sorry. Can we talk?”

“I need to go to work. It was nice seeing you Josh.” As I walked away I heard him calling my name but I just ignored it and moved toward the building I worked in. Stepping into the lobby, I took a second to calm myself before heading towards the elevator. “Hi Mike.” I greeted the weekend security guard as I swiped my ID card.

“Morning Hayley, what are you doing here on another weekend?”

“I have lots of work to do, this should be the last weekend I have to come in for a while.”

“Don’t stay too long, you’re young and you should be out having a blast on the weekend.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” In the elevator I allowed myself to think about Josh, we had been dating for over 6 months when Josh got called up to the Blue Jackets. We were practically living together at that point without it being official. We were both excited for this opportunity for him and as he made the drive out I couldn’t wait to get the text hear that he made the 2 hour drive safely.

After 4 hours of waiting I didn’t hear anything so I tried calling, when I didn’t get an answer I called his teammates who had heard from him and they told me he made it there okay. Over the next two days I tried to contact him so many times but he never responded and a few times rejected my phone call. The only news I heard of him was from his teammates and they had no clue why he was avoiding me, so I decided I was done.

I had a few of his teammates that I had become friends with grab my stuff out of his apartment. Then I went on with my life, or I tired to as my heart was breaking. He was my first relationship that felt like it could last and grow into a life long relationship. So to see it end so suddenly and without any warning signs, it shattered me. All I did was go to work and go home, it took me almost 4 months to get myself out of the funk and into some semblance of a real life. And I went on with my life for over a year without the thought of Josh making me cry and now after interacting with him for 15 minutes I was back to the hot mess I used to be.

Brushing the tears as the elevator came to a stop I took a calming breath before stepping out and heading to my tiny office. It wasn’t much but it was a quiet place to do my work and I had a few succulents on my desk to give it some color. Getting to work I was able to distract myself with numbers and how everything was right or wrong, there was no question of the grey area. I was able to distract myself for the whole morning and into the afternoon. The only thing that brought me out of my focus was a knock on the door, Mike was standing in the doorway smiling at me. “What’s up Mike?”

“I didn’t see you go get lunch and it’s close to 5.”

“I thought it was only 3.” He sighed and shook his head. “But good news is that I am going to leave now. I was just wrapping up for the day.” I hoped my white lie would work, that I could have more time alone.

“I doubt that, but since you are getting ready to leave I’ll walk you out.” He called me out on my lie so I saved my work and shut down my computer, slinging my feet into my flats before grabbing by bag. As we made our way out of the office and into the elevator we made small talk, before saying goodbye in the lobby. Walking outside I pulled my sunglasses out of my purse and pulled them on just as I heard my name called.

“Are you following me?” Josh was leaning against a sleek sports car, smiling at me as he stood up.

“No, just noticed what building you went into and I know you work way too much. So I just figured you would be here until someone kicked you out and told you to go eat dinner.” I nodded, and shifted awkwardly. I still didn’t know how to act around Josh in this new dynamic, I had those all familiar butterflies like when we first dated plus a voice in my head screaming that this was a bad idea. “Can I take you out to dinner? We can talk and I can apologize about a million times.”

“Josh…”

“Please Hayley, after I saw you this morning I called some of my teammates from back then and they gave me a really hard time. I didn’t realize how much of an ass I was then. I know a place that make an amazing white pizza.” And that was my weakness.

“Fine, can you give me a ride home afterwards?”

“Of course.” He held the passenger seat door open for me, closing it once I was seated. I watched him from behind my sunglasses as he pulled away from the curb and easily slipped into the growing Saturday night traffic. We were silent as he drove out of the city and into the closest suburb before pulling into a parking lot that was crowded. We continued to be silent as we walked inside and were shown to a booth in the back of the restaurant.

“I don’t know how to say I sorry enough, I didn’t realize I shut you out when I got called up. And I don’t know why I did, it’s not like I did it on purpose.”

“Then why didn’t you try to call me when you came back to pack up your apartment at the end of the season?”

“Because my teammates told me not to, I just assumed that you were done with me not being there for that long and you just told a teammate. And I wasn’t upset because I always said that you were way too good for me and that you deserved better. Maybe that’s why I didn’t call because I figured you deserve someone who isn’t leaving at a moments notice.”

“Don’t you think I should make my own decisions when it comes to who I date?” He nods as our white pizza was delivered to the table. “I honestly thought my heart was going to break then, after I realized it was over I was lost for a really long time.”

“That’s what my teammate said, I’m glad they were there for you. Because I made a huge mistake and I was a young idiot then that wasn’t able to admit my mistake. And if I could I would go back and do it all differently.”

I didn’t know what to say, a part of me always wanted to have this conversation with Josh. I thought after having this conversation I would feel better, but instead I felt more confused than when it first happened. “Josh…”

“Please, just let me ask you one thing. And if you say no, I get it and will never bother you again.” I stayed silent, waiting to see what he wanted to say. As I slowly chewed on my slice of pizza I worried that if this conversation went poorly white pizza would be ruined for me forever. “Will you give us another chance? I promise that I’m not as stupid as I was back then, and I have learned that I really want you in my life because it is so much better with you in it.”

“If we take it slow.”

“Yes, of course. Anything you want. This week I want to take you on a first date, well our second first date.”

“I can’t wait.” We finished up our dinner soon after, with Josh driving me home. “I’ll see you soon Josh.”

“I’ll be counting the minutes and I’ll call you everyday if you want me too.” Walking into my apartment I couldn’t stop smiling, the worst day of my life now led to the best day.

Request are open!!!!!

[andrebearakovsky]

My Top Caps Moments of the Regular Season

Alright, people. Throughout the season I published 3 versions of my Caps top 10 favorite moments. Now that the regular season is over, I put all those moments and more into one big comprehensive top moments of the season post. Enjoy.

30. Every shutout  (10/18/16 vs COL, 11/18/16 vs DET, 12/11/16 vs VAN, 12/23/16 vs TBL, 1/5/17 vs CBJ, 1/7/17 at OTT, 1/13/17 vs CHI, 1/15/17 vs PHI, 2/5/17 vs LAK, 2/7/17 vs CAR, 3/2/17 vs NJD, 4/5/17 vs NYR) 

We have been #blessed by our goalies this season. When all was said and done, Holts and Grubi gave us twelve shutouts. Good god. Holts had 9 and Grubi had 3. This was incredibly impressive, and resulted in a Jennings Trophy.

29. Every Andre Burakovsky goal  (10/13/16 at PIT x2, 12/21/16 at PHI, 12/27/16 at NYI, 1/5/17 vs CBJ, 1/15/17 vs PHI, 1/16/17 at PIT, 1/19/17 at STL, 1/21/17 at DAL, 1/26/17 at NJD, 2/4/17 at MTL, 4/2/17 at CBJ)

We all love Andre and Andre loves us. How do I know this? Because he’s scored so many goals. Look at him he’s such a cute happy lil bean when he scores. Every goal is a treasure. Unfortunately he was sidelined with an injury for far too long, else I feel he could have scored many more.

28. Every TJ Oshie shootout goal  (10/13/16 at PIT, 12/16/16 at CAR, 12/21/16 at PHI, 3/23/17 vs CBJ)

Caps = not good in shootouts (winning 2 out of 7). Oshie = good in shootouts (scoring 4 out of 6 times). I love Shootout King TJ Oshie, and every goal is a thing of beauty. He even decided to give us an encore of the 2014 Olympics.

27. Every shorthanded goal  (11/11/16 at CHI, 11/16/16 vs PIT, 12/29/16 vs NJD, 1/16/17 at PIT, 2/11/17 vs ANA)

Personally, I think shorthanded goals are more exciting than power play goals. They don’t happen as often, and it shifts momentum in your favor. Our PK is so awesome they scored a big handful of them. Also, 2/5 of our shorties came against Pittsburgh so that makes them extra special.

26. Every OT winner  (11/3/16 vs WPG, 11/11/16 at CHI, 12/5/16 vs BUF, 12/7/16 vs BOS, 1/3/17 vs TOR, 1/21/17 at DAL,  3/4/17 vs PHI, 3/28/17 at MIN)

I really love OT winners, they’re incredibly exciting. All told, we had a grand total of 8 OT winners this year, and we had a number of different OT heroes. Go check em out.

25. Garrett Mitchell’s NHL Debut (4/9/17 vs FLA) (x)

We had a number of players make their NHL debuts throughout the season, but this one was special. Garrett Mitchell has been on the Hershey Bears for 6 years, and he is currently the captain. On the last day of the season, the Caps decided to reward him for his hard work in the organization by calling him up to make his NHL debut and play in one game. And to make things even better, Nicklas Backstrom purposely got kicked out of the faceoff circle so that Mitchell could take the opening faceoff. Cue the waterworks.

24. Breaking the streak  (1/5/17 vs CBJ)

Fun fact: I was actually at this game. The photo above is of me and a sign I made, which got on TV and then subsequently was everywhere (NHL Network, On the Fly, RMNB, the NHL twitter account). That game was so much fun to be at. The boys were super motivated and they crushed the Jackets. Everyone was on their A-game and they killed that winning streak. In the arena near the end of the game we chanted “kill the streak,” and that entire game was electric and awesome.

23. Dmitry Orlov’s sweet goal against Pittsburgh (11/16/16 vs PIT)

Orlov got his first goal of the year in a rout against Pittsburgh, and he celebrated by plowing over a Penguin and bodyslamming the glass.

22. Dmitry Orlov’s sweet pass to Evgeny Kuznetsov (11/23/16 vs STL)

The Russian brothers roared into the zone and Orlov slid a fantastic pass to Kuzy for a tap home. It’s pretty sweet, just watch it.

21. All of the times Andre Burakovsky scored the first goal of the game (1/15/17 vs PHI, 1/16/17 at PIT, 1/19/17 at STL, 1/21/17 at DAL)

I love my boy so much. Earlier in the year my boy got into a stretch where he really wanted to be the first one to score a goal. So much so that he was the first goal scorer in four straight games. I’m so proud of him look at him go. Go look at all his goals they’re all so beautiful.

20. Dmitry Orlov’s hit on Smith (4/5/17 vs NYR)

The Rangers looked like they were getting a breakaway, but Orlov stopped that real quick with a big thump. Not nearly as devastating as some of his other hits, this was still pretty fun to watch.

19. Alex Ovechkin goes on a warpath and hits 4 leafs (4/4/17 at TOR)

I don’t know exactly what got into Ovi this game; maybe he had a premonition we’d face the leafs in the first round and decided to send a message. Either way, Ovi was a man on a mission: he delivered two checks to Zaitsev, a thump to Kadri, and absolutely crushed Brown. It was a delight.

18. Jay Beagle goal against Detroit (11/18/16 vs DET)

In a game during which the Caps lost Oshie, Burakovsky, and Eller to injury and the Caps were rotating 9 forwards, we were saved by Jay Beagle yet again. After a tense affair, salvation came very late in the game when Beagle shoveled home the game’s only goal (on his knees), and got a bear hug from Tom Wilson as a reward.

17. TJ Oshie poppin’ bottles (2/5/17 vs LAK)

It took everyone a minute to realize that not only had Oshie scored, but had knocked the top off the goalie’s water bottle. Visual of the year.

16. Brooks Orpik’s fight against Steve Ott (2/18/17 at DET)

Brooks Orpik, in by far his best moment of the year, absolutely friggin pummeled Steve Ott, and it was awesome.

15. The amazing Ovi-Oshie-Nicky passing sequence (1/13/17 vs CHI)

The Caps put their passing on display during their long win streak with some fantastic puck movement from the top line. #BestLineinHockey

14. The Karl Alzner slapshot (feat. a Justin Williams breakaway) (1/1/17 vs OTT)

A Karl Alzner goal? A Karl Alzner goal. He doesn’t score much, but when he does, he does it with a bang. Literally. Starting with a great stretch pass from Carlson, a breakaway and scoring chance from Williams, a scrum and a pass by Oshie, and ultimately ending with the hardest slapshot I’ve ever seen from Karl Alzner that left me with the biggest look of shock on my face and left the players with nothing but smiles. Seriously, look at Alzner and Carlson.

13. Alex Ovechkin’s fake-slapshot to Matt Niskanen (1/15/17 vs PHI)

Ovi fooled the entire world when he didn’t take the slapshot but instead passed to Matt Niskanen, giving him an open net. Even my parents were in awe of this one. Ovi made this goalie look absolutely foolish and executed one of the best plays of the year.

12. Evgeny Kuznetsov’s ridiculous goal in Montreal (1/9/17 at MTL)

I do not exaggerate when I say that Kuzy saved my life with this goal. When I was watching this game I was having a crap day, and he scored to put the Caps up. What a beautiful classic Kuzy goal.

11. Tom Wilson’s fight against Brett Ritchie in Dallas (1/21/17 at DAL)

Who but Tom Wilson? Willy had himself a nice fight in Dallas. Actually, it wasn’t anywhere near Willy’s best right, but he still bloodied up this guy’s entire face and it was amazing. Not to mention this spurred a later Winnik fight and Beags considering getting into a fight to make it a whole line thing.

10. TJ Oshie’s shootout goal that wasn’t actually in the shootout (2/1/17 vs BOS)

Oh my LAWD. TJ Oshie, the master of the shootout, got a nice pass from Backstrom and a breakaway and forgot that it was regulation time and not the shootout. He made Tuukka Rask look absolutely silly and I cried ‘cause it was beautiful.

9. Philipp Grubauer’s ridiculous save against Tyler Seguin (1/21/17 at DAL)

Holy frickin cow Grubauer absolutely robbed Tyler Seguin in arguably the best save of the entire year. My jaw dropped so hard, Grubi saved my life with this save.

8. Jakub Vrana’s first NHL goal (12/9/16 at BUF)

Baby V scored his first ever goal in Buffalo on the power play. Jakub Vrana is such a cutie, and one of these days he’s going to be a goal-scoring machine. I was so happy when he got his first in the big leagues. To this date he still has yet to score a goal that’s not a power play goal.

7. Zach Sanford’s first NHL goal (2/11/17 vs ANA)

God bless our sweet young giraffe. I rooted for him so hard in his first stint, but he just couldn’t break through. Turns out he couldn’t have picked a better time to get that first career goal. He put the Caps up late in an incredibly exciting game, and I think I might have cried actual tears of joy. And now he’s gone. I miss him so so much and I hope the Blues are treating him well. He’s doing really well in St. Louis so I’m happy for him but I also miss him a lot.

6. Alex Ovechkin’s hat trick against the Wild (3/28/17 at MIN)

Ovi has scored a ridiculous amount of hat tricks in his career (17 + 1 in the playoffs), but this time he did something he’d never done before: he scored all three goals on the power play. So here he is, terrorizing Dubnyk yet again.

5. TJ Oshie’s hat trick against the Lightning (3/18/17 at TBL)

TJ Oshie scored two goals early and then threw an alley-oop shot to the empty net to finish the hat trick. It was his first official hat trick as a Cap (cause evidently playoff hat tricks don’t count in official stats).

4. Alex Ovechkin’s hat trick against the Blues (11/23/16 vs STL)

Ovi really loves to score hat tricks against the Blues. All three of these goals were absolutely beautiful, and it was the only hat trick of the year that happened at home, so it gets bonus points.

3. The Dmitry Orlov hit on Matt Duchene (10/18/16 vs COL)

I AM STILL NOT OVER THIS HIT. I WILL NEVER BE OVER THIS HIT. This is the best damn hit I have ever seen. Matt Duchene was fuckin launched into orbit. Matt Duchene is yet to have landed. Everytime I think about this hit I can’t stop smiling because it is THAT GOOD. I think about this hit every damn day of my life. When we played the Avs the second time I was more excited about seeing replays of this hit than I was about actually playing the Avs.

2. Nicklas Backstrom’s 500th assist (1/7/17 at OTT)

I have lots of love for Nicklas Backstrom, the light of my life. He got his 500th career assist, the most in Caps history (and also the first Cap to ever do that of course). He doesn’t get nearly enough recognition for what he does, but on this night he did. You can just see the glee on Ovi’s face. You go, Nick Backstrom. Let the NHL know why we love you so much.

1.  Alex Ovechkin’s 1000th point (1/11/17 vs PIT)

Really, how could this not be number 1? I almost cried when I saw it was in the stars for Ovi to get his 1000th point at home against the Penguins. And he did it in under a minute. Holy cow I love Alex Ovechkin and it’s an honor to be watching a legend.

I know I didn’t get everything. I know I missed some pretty goals, some nice saves, some good hits and fights; I know there was one 4-minute PK we had at home that was really sweet that I missed. But we can’t have everything. And now, ladies and gents, we wait for the playoffs.

[junker-town]

Shane Doan, the Coyotes and 7 ways a NHL captaincy should or shouldn’t end

Doan’s exit from Arizona ranks pretty low.

Shane Doan’s career with the Arizona Coyotes is over.

He’s a free agent.

I did not expect to write those two sentences back-to-back. Ever. Not about Doan, a player who’s been around the NHL for two decades now and loyally served one of the league’s perennially bad teams for 14 years. And I certainly didn’t expect to write about awkward goodbyes between Doan and the Coyotes in a public restaurant.

It leaves me thinking about what fans prefer when they know their beloved franchise captains have to leave. Hockey is unique in that sense. The captains are the face of your franchise and can become sports icons or lightning rods. Over the last few years, as the old guard has given way to a new wave of young players, we’ve seen notable captaincies end in different ways.

So I’ve decided to run through the scenarios, listing them from most ideal to least ideal. Note that these aren’t exactly rankings; just a general progression from “great” to “good” to “sure” to “please no.”

Retires as captain

Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Examples: Nicklas Lidstrom (DET), Scott Stevens (NJD), Joe Sakic (COL), Rod Brind’Amour (CAR)

The ideal, right? Longevity gets checked off and so does loyalty as the city’s legendary hockey leader hangs up his skates in the uniform he knows best. No lingering animosities. No “what ifs.” Just a lot of feel-good memories as he takes one final lap around the ice. He’s probably crying. You’re crying. All of us are crying, and our tears form a cresting wave that carry him into hockey heaven.

I guess.

Traded at deadline to contender

Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Examples: Brenden Morrow (DAL), Jarome Iginla (CGY), Eric Staal (CAR), Andrew Ladd (WPG)

The next-best thing, I think. If your aging captain is running out of time to win a Stanley Cup, your team is about to hit a reset button anyway and he’s about to hit free agency, might as well ship him off. It’s a win-win situation for everyone. He gets a shot at a Cup with a contender. Your team gets to say they did right by him while also reaping some assets that will help the future. Fans feel good about all of that and get to root for him in the playoffs.

Traded unceremoniously in prime

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Examples: Shea Weber (NSH), Jason Spezza (OTT), Alex Ovechkin (ohmygodisaidit), Dion Phaneuf (TOR), Chris Pronger (STL), Lindros (PHI), Rick Nash (CBJ), Joe Thornton (BOS)

Some of these are more palatable than others. Spezza and Phaneuf weren’t captains long enough to make it a Huge Story™ when they left. (Though ask Senators fans about the return in the Spezza trade and watch them cry.) Weber was a beloved Nashville captain, but he brought back P.K. Subban so that’s a wash. Pronger and Lindros are still legends in those cities.

Nash was a necessary move for a sputtering Blue Jackets franchise. But Thornton still haunts Boston to this day.

At any rate, this isn’t a good way to go. Like excising a wart or something. It’ll hurt for awhile, but the pain should go away.

Traded unceremoniously

Photo by Alex Trautwig/Getty Images

.... Let’s not get into that again.

Leaves in free agency unceremoniously

Examples: David Backes (STL), Zach Parise (NJD), Saku Koivu (MON)

The reasons for this usually vary. Koivu had spent 14 years with the Canadiens. By the time he left it was time to move on anyway. Parise had led the Devils to a Stanley Cup Final recently, yes, but we all know now what kind of direction they were headed in. Holding onto him was a pipe dream that summer anyway, and best for everyone involved.

Backes is a surprising one, if only because he still seems to fit the St. Louis Blues mold so well. We know how that tale ended, too: without Backes there to shield his team from Ken Hitchcock’s coaching style, the Blues faltered this year.

The running theme here, though, is the unceremonious part. Leaving in free agency is a choice that captain and his team have to make. The captain in these situations is just as, if not more, ready to part ways as the team itself. That’s not a great feeling if you’re a fan, and usually a sign of bad times to come for your franchise.

Stripped of captaincy, remains with team

Examples: Vincent Lecavalier (TBL), Mike Modano (DAL), Dustin Brown (LAK), Joe Thornton (SJS)

Usually awkward, but not always. Sometimes, like Modano’s case, you find out the player isn’t captain material and he’s more than happy to relinquish the “C”. Other times, the change is due to clashes with the coach (like Lecavalier and John Tortorella). In both of those cases, the ex-captains remained on the team for a long time with few issues.

The same goes for Joe Thornton. Stripping the captaincy can be uncomfortable, but if the player and the team both want to stay together those wounds usually heal. Especially if the new captain is a good choice, like Joe Pavelski.

The flip-side is Dustin Brown’s case:

stripped of the captaincy

not offered an alternate captaincy

everyone knows they want to get rid of you and your albatross of a contract

exposed to the expansion draft a year later as a city prays you get taken away

But that’s still not as bad as ...

Shane Doan’s case

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Doan captained the Arizona Coyotes for 14 of his 21 seasons in the desert. Three of those 14 seasons included playoff runs of varying lengths. Winning has never been a promise for Doan The Captain, but he stuck through it anyway.

That faith obviously started to fray this year. Here’s what he said when the Coyotes traded Martin Hanzal at the deadline (emphasis mine):

“It’s really hard, obviously, he’s a huge part of our team and someone you get to play with for 10 years. You appreciate and understand how valuable ... you can’t really replace him, and ... the fact that we just continue to seem to go—I don’t know, it’s hard to understand how exactly—I mean, you understand people’s hands are tied. Just don’t get it.”

Any of the aforementioned options were on the table, you’d think, other than stripping the captaincy. Arizona had a chance to trade him to a contender at the deadline with free agency looming, but didn’t. That left two of the options on the table:

Bring him back to play out his career in Arizona, retiring as a franchise player.

Let him leave in free agency unceremoniously.

The Coyotes took the latter path. And boy, was it unceremonious.

First was the news that Doan wouldn’t be protected in the expansion draft. Then came the news yesterday that the Coyotes wouldn’t even offer Doan a contract. Not even a half-hearted one to pretend they tried after decades of loyal service.

Just a motion to the door.

If that doesn’t sound ugly enough, get a load of Doan’s comments to Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (emphasis mine again):

"Yeah I'd say I was surprised," Doan said. "I wasn't expecting it and there is an element of surprise in that. You think it's going one way … and I realized very quickly where the conversation was going and was trying to process it all. … I wasn't shocked that they didn't want me to play again. I understand the direction they are going. I don't completely agree with a lot of the decisions that they've made, but at the same time it needs to be reaffirmed that I'm a player. Sometimes you start to think you are bigger than you are. I'm a player and my job is to play."

...

“I left fairly quickly. I didn't want to say or do anything at the moment that could be detrimental. You don't want to respond with emotion. I'm a competitive and emotional guy and sometimes it gets the better of me. I shook his hand and said thank you and left.”

He struck a nicer tone at the end of that, but it still sounds like a player ready to be done with the Coyotes. And his agent definitely didn’t mince words with what seemed like a shot at Arizona’s futility as a hockey market during Doan’s career.

Shane Doan's agent Terry Bross: "Shane is ready to enter the free-agent market & see where it goes. Time for him to get a shot at the Cup."

— Craig Morgan (@craigsmorgan) June 19, 2017

Vented frustrations in-season. Barely-minced words at the close.

A two decades-long run with a team and its fanbase shouldn’t deteriorate this publicly and acrimoniously. It sucks, and I’ll argue that the end of Doan’s captaincy is the worst possible way for a captaincy to end. Unlike Lidstrom, it doesn’t end intact. Unlike Iginla, it doesn’t end with good intentions from both sides. Unlike St. Louis, it doesn’t end with fireworks that quickly burn out.

Doan’s career in Arizona is ending quietly, bitterly and with a sour taste that will linger for a long time. Not sure Coyotes fans, the franchise or Doan himself deserves that after all they’ve been through.

[puckngrind]

Skating Lessons part 7

Summary: Reader has a coffee date with Amy Jones and the bestie asks all the Josh questions.  

Warnings: swearing, mentions of sex...

Word Count: 1992

Series Masterlist

“CBJ...CBJ...CBJ...”  Mason is yelling at the tv while in his Anderson jersey and pajama pants.  “Momma, look, Josh just did our special signal!” Mason was bouncing around while the commentators talked over the pre-game video.  Sure enough, Josh was standing there laughing with Seth and hitting pucks.  He then stops, does a spin and touches his head.  You laugh as Mason does the same thing.

“That’s awesome Sweetie!”  You laugh and take a video of Mason doing the move again to send to Josh.

Bethany plops on the couch next to you with coffee in hand and a look on her face.  “When did you and JOSH come up with this move, Maze?”  Your best friend had called Mason this since he was a baby.

Mason jumps on the couch between the two of you and announces that they came up with it a few skates ago.  You had witnessed this move before but didn’t realize your boys would do it every time you were at the ice.  NOW you realized Josh was connecting with Mason even on road trips.  Bethany shot you another look you could read without words.  She was annoyed that you hadn’t told her about any of this Josh stuff.  You bring your legs up causing your shorts to ride up.

“Momma, you are hurt.  What happened?”  Mason stops bouncing and hugs you.

“Uh, I ran into something at work.  I’m fine, Baby.  First score and you are headed to bed okay?  You can watch the game tomorrow.”  

Your face turns bright red as you here Beth say under breathe, “yeah, you fell on Josh’s face, huh?”  

“What Auntie Beth?”  Mason turned his attention to Bethany and you gave her a death look.

“Did you see Josh’s face?”  Beth recovers from her comment and you are sure she can feel your thoughts as she continues.  “I bet he scores first!”  She survived that slip up and Mason’s full attention is on the game.  Sure enough Josh has the puck and sails it to Seth who shoots it into the net.  

“GOOOOAAAALLLL” Mason shouts.  And with that you put Mason to bed and crashed on the couch to hear all the questions Bethany had about your relationship with Josh.  You answered the basics while watching the game.  The main question she asked was why she hadn’t heard about it and you avoided all her questions about how good the sex was.  

“That’s fine.  I can only imagine how mind blowing it is.”  Bethany pats your leg where Josh had marked you up.  You tuck your knees under your Anderson sweatshirt and you sit your coffee cup on your knees.  “So, what’s it like dating a professional athlete?”  Beth continues her questions as you stare at the game.  Thankfully the Blue Jackets were up by 3 and Josh had 2 assists so far.

“Beth, I’m going to be honest.”  You took a deep breath but kept looking at the game.  “When we are together I don’t even think about the fact that he plays hockey for a living.  Like he’s just Josh.  Obviously I KNOW he’s a professional athlete but he’s so much more than that.  And the other guys are so down to earth and they all love Mason so much.  He was star struck for a second but he’s so comfortable with them.  It’s weird and amazing.  YES!  BABY!”  Your confession is stopped by Josh landing one in the back of the net with 5 minutes left of the 3rd. 

Bethany brings you right back to the conversation as she takes in your celebration, “So you are really watching the game huh?”  You just shake your head as the minutes tick down.  “And you’ve hung out with the team?” “Well, we went down to the family room after the game...you know the one that someone took our pictures...” Your words catch in your throat but you continue,  “and a few of the guys came to the zoo with us Sunday.” “Wait, you got his teammates to go to the zoo with you three?”  Beth’s face was squished up trying process all of this.  She was not use to you dating at all and now this.

“Well, Josh invited a few of the boys so it didn’t look like a date after the social media stuff.  I’m meeting Amy Thursday because I have questions and Seth suggested we talk.” “I know I’ll get use to it but the fact that you just talked about the queen of hockey moms and her All-Star son like they are Sally and Jay next door is pretty crazy.”  You laugh because you hadn’t noticed it yourself how you weren’t starstruck by any of them.  Your phone vibrates and you see a text. 

Josh: I’m glad he saw it.  He looks adorable.  Is Bethany still there?  I want to Facetime when I get back to my hotel room. 😉

You: I’m not sure what you are planning but yes, she’s here but leaving.

“Ew, are you two...sexting?”  Bethany laughs but her eyebrows are furrowed.

“Um...no...”  You answer and she’s not convinced.  Beth leaves and you plop on your bed waiting for Josh to facetime you.

“There’s my girl!  Say hi to PL, (y/n).”  Josh gives you the look and pulls his phone back to see PL sitting behind him on the couch.  

“Hey Luc!  Mason asked when you were going to race him on the ice today.  I told him you might lose after all that ice cream.”  You giggle and PL just shakes his head.  

“So...the hotel messed up our block.  We are have roommates regardless...and PL called me.  I think he knew I’d call you.”  You see Josh look over at him and then his eyebrows moved to tell you more.  “Beth okay with everything?” “Yeah, I mean I was questioned the whole game.  I did see your three assists and goal Babe.  Nice job.”  Josh’s face turned red.  While you started watching more hockey on purpose you really never talked hockey with Josh much. He talked to Mason but not you which may be why you never thought about the fact that he was who he was when you were together.

The two of you talked a little more before PL started whining he couldn’t hear the movie he put on so you hung up with Josh.

“You must be (y/n)!” you here from behind you as you sit at a high top table in the corner of the little cafe down the street from the arena.  Amy Jones had her hands up coming in for a hug.  “The boys have told me so much about you already!  I was so excited to meet the girl who has stolen Josh’s heart.  He’s been waiting for you for so long you know.”  Amy was exactly what Bethany described her.  The queen of hockey moms and she was easy to talk to.  You talked all about her boys and how she was thankful social media really wasn’t a thing when they were growing up.  Being in the spotlight with kids and the lifestyle Josh, Seth, and the other boys have.  She was exactly what you needed.  

“Sweetie, I know you are worried but you just have to follow your heart and trust your gut.”  Amy puts you hand on yours as you swirl your spoon around your coffee.  “From everything Seth has told me, you are the most amazing mother and clearly you’ve done an amazing job.  Now am I saying Mason won’t find his way to some craze fans rant?  No.  It may happen but let Josh and his people deal with the crazy people.  Just love both of your boys and constantly make sure you are there for each other.”  Your eyes started to fill with tears at the thought Amy was putting in your brain.  “Plus, I’m always here for you too.  And Shelly will love you too.  She told me she cannot wait to meet you this weekend.”  You gulp at the thought of meeting Josh’s parents and Amy laughs.

“Are you sure?  I haven’t exactly met parents in awhile.”  You look down at your drink then up at Amy.  Her head was tilted to the side and she smiles.  

“Um, duh!  I’m just mad Seth didn’t see you first.”  She laughs and you feel yourself lighten up.  “Do you like pedis?  Maybe we can before I head out next weekend?  I usually drag Seth and Josh but I’d love a girls trip.”   She pops up and hugs you tight before dropping her hands to yours.  “Josh loves you and so will his family and all the other stuff with fall into place.  Just take it all in stride.”  

With that you leave with less questions about being with Josh and more dates with his world.

Josh: How did coffee with Amy go?

You: Amazing.  I cannot wait to see you tonight.

Josh: Tell Mace I added an extra move for you to our secret signal

You: Oh really?!?  Thankful the game starts at 5pm btw.  Mace will be able to catch most of it.

Josh: And I’ll be home sooner.  I gotta go.  ILY.

Just like Tuesday, You and Mason watching the game.  You mentioned to Mason that Josh put a new move on their signal that was meant to you.  Mason was intently watching and then Josh did it.  He spun around put his hand on his head and then drops it down to his heart and pumps it.  You are thankful it’s just Mason watching the game with you because your face immediately flush with Josh’s public declaration and you were turned on because while it was public no one really would knew what he’s doing.  The boys did funny things like sweep or pretend to fish so Josh’s spin move would be seen as nothing more than him being silly.  The signal would be special to just you and Mason.

The game started and it wasn’t going well.  While the boys were playing as hard as they were but calls were missed and shots were just not going in.  You put Mason to bed after the loss and waited for Josh’s text.  He didn’t so before you slid into bed you put a key under the mat and sent him a message about it.

You have no idea what time it is but you the covers move and Josh’s warm body slides in behind you.  He wraps his arm around you and pulls you in.  You moan is groggy as you rub your eyes to wake up.

“Go back to sleep, Babe.”  Josh whispers into your hair followed by kisses along your neck.  “I just want to lay like this with you.”  You turn slightly and reach your hand to his face.  He kisses your lips slightly.

“I’m glad you are back.  I missed you.”  You kiss him again and he groans.

“So my parents want to have dinner tomorrow.  With us and Mason.  I said it was fine but needed to check with you” Josh rubs your arm and goosebumps run right along with his fingers.

“Yeah, I guess.  And you can stay here tomorrow if you want?”  You say with ease.  Josh’s arms flex around you.

“Are you sure (y/n)?  What about...”  You place your lips on his to stop Josh from finishing his sentence.  

“I think I’m okay with it.  I’m pretty sure Mason is.  Plus I want to spend every moment I can with you.”  He kisses you again and you feel his lips curl up into a smile.

“That’s exactly what I was hoping for.”  Josh caresses your face.  “Now let’s get some sleep, okay?”  You nod in agreement and flip your body so your back is pressed against Josh’s naked chest.  “Maybe we can get up early and...”  With that you gave Josh an elbow into his abs and he chuckles.  “That wasn’t a no was it?”

It wasn’t...