#they're out of the playoffs but forever in my heart

[girljeremystrong]

"What we want" by Linda Pastan

What we want

is never simple.

We move among the things

we thought we wanted:

a face, a room, an open book

and these things bear our names—

now they want us.

But what we want appears

in dreams, wearing disguises.

We fall past,

holding out our arms

and in the morning

our arms ache.

We don’t remember the dream,

but the dream remembers us.

It is there all day

as an animal is there

under the table,

as the stars are there

even in full sun.

“What We Want,” by Linda Pastan

[sergeifyodorov]

Hi cody which of the big names (or lesser known guys that are your blorbos) do u think will play for their team for their entire career and who do u think will leave? Tampa bay is on my hit list for dropping stamkos like that

ohoho this one is FUN... everyone is my blorbo im gonna go through every team and See...

the biggest difficulty in making this list is that like inevitably b/c of the Inevitable Passage Of Time the babies grow up and sometimes they grow up into like. diff ppl... like i imagine rn the sharks and hawks respectively want mack and bedsy to be with them for life... but is that Happening? it's too early to say ... bedsy seems like he might though. he's goodcanadianboy enough.

boston bruins: marchand and pasta are 100% lifers... mcavoy seems like they want him to be a lifer but he hasn't made up his mind yet.

buffalo sabres: if they make the playoffs within the next five years (BIG IF) then i can see one of power or dahlin sticking it out. but at this point i'm pretty sure the only thing that can save the sabres is a serious exorcism and i mean a SERIOUS one so i doubt this'll happen in truth

detroit red wings: larkin. duh.

florida panthers: barkov

montreal canadiens: n/a. see buffalo sabres but replace "power" with "caufield" and "dahlin" with "slafkovsky" . i mean i guess you can put arber on that list but mostly because his career isn't gonna be that long probably

ottawa senators: the one and only THOMAS CHABOT

tampa bay lightning: i WOULD have said stamkos until this offseason... fucking crasy... ok anyway here's my juice: vasy's back injury/surgery have meant he is no longer the goalie he was and i doubt he'll command much after this contract is over. i say 50-50 he leaves vs stays as a reasonable backup/tandem guy. kucherov Wants 2 Win and has a much lower tolerance for Bullshit than stamkos, which means if a competitive price is not being paid for him he will Just Leave. victor hedman is going to be a lifer though

toronto maple leafs: morgan rielly is the only one i know in my heart is a lifer, but only because a) jt was already an islander and b) willy and auston will probably play most of their reasonable careers as leafs and then have like 1-3 seasons somewhere else as ancient old men to Cup Chase One Last Time. don't ask about the other guy you know how i feel about jinxes

carolina hurricanes: n/a

columbus blue jackets: n/a

new jersey devils: n/a... they will try to keep at least 1 hughes but i think we have seen so little of the current devils era (hischier/hughes) that it's hard to say anything about their future atm. can you believe nico was only drafted the year after auston like they haven't gotten off the ground at ALL.

new york islanders: [squints in trying to name islanders]... actually a bunch of lifers looking at it. sorokin. anders lee. barzal if you're nasty. brock nelson. etc

new york rangers: chris kreider FER SURE, igor shesterkin FER MAYBE

philadelphia flyers: see devils re: brink of something new. they're going to try and keep tk forever though

pittsburgh penguins: do i REALLY have to say anything here

washington capitals: Do I Really Have To Say Anything Here

chicago blackhawks: was about to make another bad seth jones contract joke here before remembering he's already played on a different team. no further comment

colorado avalanche: natemac has made it pretty damn clear he wants to stay an av forever, because sidcros stayed a penguin forever. do what you will with that information

dallas stars: jamie benn definitely, but everyone else is too young to say something about or has been on other teams already. good luck with your jrob21 contract negotiations stars front office You Will Need It

minnesota wild: ...jared spurgeon...?

nashville predators: did you guys know puckpedia has the preds abbreviated as NAS and they're ahead of the devils. crazy. anyway roman josi and juuse saros are gonna be preds for life, and probably filip forsberg too

st louis blues: vlad tarasenko IN MY HEART...

winnipeg jets: hellebuyck and schiefele fer sure

anaheim ducks: because they've been trying to trade him for a decade and have been unsuccessful yet: john gibson

calgary flames: n/a

edmonton oilers: nuge + mcdrai also

la kings: doughty + kopi

seattle kraken: n/a

san jose sharks: logan couture

vancouver canucks: my hot take is nobody because quinn hughes is going to pull a mark giordano or jason spezza or perhaps even a chris tanev and play the last couple years of his career as a leaf. petey is gonna slut it up somewhere else later, brock is straight up going to leave as a ufa OR sign a short bridge and then leave as a ufa, and jt miller was a ranger

vegas golden knights: n/a

[saltandpepperbox]

[full text of the letter under the cut for length:]

For the last 18 years, I have felt like one of the lucky ones. I was able to make my childhood dream come true playing in the NHL with two great franchises - first with San Jose and then with Dallas - surrounded by some of the best people the hockey world has to offer. My time in those cities allowed me to build deep connections with both fanbases, and that connection gave me the added fuel to live up to the expectations I had set for myself. There are two moments that stand out as favorites during my playing career, and funny enough, both started with getting knocked out. Both incidents happened in the playoffs, once with San Jose against Vegas during the 2019 playoffs, and then again while I was playing for Dallas against Minnesota in 2023. In each of these instances, my teammates had my back and our team advanced deeper into the playoffs while I was recovering, giving me the chance to return to the lineup. I was lucky enough to score in both return games - a goal and an assist in game seven against Colorado with San Jose and a four goal game in game one against Seattle with Dallas, Seeing Jumbo's face as I skated back to the bench, and his genuine excitement boiling over, is something that is etched in my brain to this day. And in Dallas, hearing the roar of the crowd that night at the American Airlines Center is something I will always remember. It was moments like these that deepened my understanding of what the hockey fan and player are all about, thriving on the miraculous and unlikely stories like these that keep us coming back for more.

I'll always hold on to the kindness and passion I received from my fans and teammates, especially during that process of missing playoff games and working my way back. There was nothing more important to me than playing in the playoffs, I cherished every single chance I got to chase a championship and it made coming to the rink every day exciting and extremely motivating. The love and support I felt from you all got me through challenging times and helped create those big moment, and these are now experience that we cherish and share together. To all the teammates, coaches and support staff that helped me during my career - I can't put into words my gratitude for everything you did for me and my family. You challenged and encouraged me, and the memories we made together will last a lifetime. The thrills of the game will fade but those bonds and friendships will be the most cherished thing I take from this great game. Most importantly, I couldn't have done it without the unwavering support of my family. If I had to define one trait that helped me through the this journey, it would be working hard. To my parents, brother and sister, I watched and learned that from you at a young age what it meant to dedicate yourself to hard work and persevere. Your teachings pushed me to be the best, not take anything for granted, and to be grateful for every small opportunity that life offers us. I can't thank you enough for all the love you have shown and how much you pushed me.

To my wife Sarah and son Nathan. You've been there the entire way and have been nothing but supportive of me. I live every day to make you both proud, and you both should know how proud you make me. There are so many moment that we get to share together, whether they're ups or downs and there are no two people that I'd rather share it all with. You two are always in my heart, and this game was so much better because I got to share it with you.

I guess the theme is, my career was not made better by individual accomplishments, but by all the people who I got to share it with. Some of you I will get to thank in person, but for others, this is the only way I can do it. So, thank you to everyone who went on this journey with me.

Always a hockey guy and forever grateful ....

Joe

Thank you, Joe Pavelski❤️