“My family’s not with me, so I don’t have anything other than just focusing on hockey, which helps. At the end of the day, it does help, and it’s a sacrifice to be away from them,” Brad Marchand told Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas on the 32 Thoughts podcast earlier this month, when the race to the Stanley Cup was far from over. Such sacrifices often go unacknowledged when things go well, with conversations of success centering mostly around contributions that are more apparent. That wasn’t going to be the case this time, not under the Panthers’ GM Bill Zito‘s watch.
As the Panthers’ viral Stanley Cup celebrations made their way to Fort Lauderdale Beach on June 22, Zito, “the architect” of their roster, was invited onto the stage to address the fans who had turned up in numbers for the victory parade. The predominant emotion of his speech? Gratitude. “There’s a couple layers to who we need to thank to be able to be here today,” he began in the video uploaded on the Florida Panthers YouTube Channel. “First and foremost, it’s these men. It’s these players, these coaches, who are extraordinary individuals. Our staff, our scouts, Leo from the dining room. Everybody gets together,” he said, pointing to the Panthers’ squad sitting behind him.
The Panthers’ GM also thanked the Viola family and the fans before moving on to giving the families of the players and the staff their due. “And last, but certainly not least, I’d like to thank our families. We’re away for an inordinate amount of time. Not always there for our kids. We’re not at every game or every practice. We’re not there every night. And our wives, our spouses, our children do this for us.” He didn’t stop there. Bill invited every star’s wife on stage and celebrated the victory with those happy faces.
NHL, Eishockey Herren, USA Stanley Cup Final – Media Day Jun 7, 2024 Sunrise, Florida, USA Florida Panthers general manager Bill Zito speaks to reporters during media day in advance of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena. Sunrise Amerant Bank Arena Florida USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xSamxNavarrox 20240607_szo_na2_0135
In fact, he also took the opportunity to sneak in a birthday wish for his own wife, Dana. “And by the way, I don’t want to get killed at home. So, a happy birthday to my wife, Dana, today,” joked Zito. Good save. Zito’s gesture was, indeed, an important one, especially considering how the NHL is full of stories of sacrifice that rarely get the recognition they deserve.
Inspiring stories of sacrifice outside of Bill Zito’s team
One of the most emotional stories you might have heard is the upbringing of Auston Matthews. In an interview with ESPN in 2021, his mother, Ema, shared that she did everything she could to see her son reach the top of the league. For the Matthews family—especially with Ema originally from Hermosillo, Mexico—the culture and cost of the sport were both daunting. Matthews’ mom told reporters, her eyes full of tears, “I used to work in the morning at Starbucks, and in the afternoon at a restaurant. I was very fortunate to have two jobs. And believe me, if there had been more hours in the day, I would have taken more jobs.”
There is another story of off-the-ice sacrifice, and the protagonist is Vegas Golden Knights star Alex Pietrangelo. Ahead of the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals, Pietrangelo had emerged from a major family crisis. During Thanksgiving, one of his triplets, his 5-year-old daughter, Evelyn, was diagnosed with the flu. It developed into encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain tissue, causing her to lose control of her motor skills.
Image via Facebook/ @NHL
That was the time when Pietrangelo decided to devote all his time and energy to his family. He said, “That was the first time I’ve ever even thought about not coming back to play. Like, it wasn’t even a question.” He also added, “I wasn’t gonna go back until I was ready to go back. Until I knew she was good, my wife was good, and the other three [kids] were good, I wasn’t gonna go back. So, I went back when I felt like I was ready.”
But even though Pietrangelo was concerned for his wife, she was her rock through the difficult time, holding down the fort, praying for their daughter’s recovery. Thankfully, Evelyn came back home within a month after responding well to “a course of treatment” that helped eliminate a brain lesion. Pietrangelo returned to the team, too, and helped the Knights lift the 2023 Stanley Cup by beating none other than the Florida Panthers.
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