It’s Christmas time, and so that means that the NHL and its entire list of teams is taking a break. Don’t worry, though. That break will only be a matter of three days, as is tradition for the league since 1971. No games are played during Christmas Eve (this year it will be Tuesday) nor Christmas Day (Wednesday).
This is different than how a league such as the NFL works. Not to get too far into that topic, but the NFL scheduled two games on Wednesday (Christmas Day). Honestly, that probably has as much to do with popularity as it does money. If hockey was nearly as popular as football, I’m sure that there would be some sort of agreement by the league and the NHLPA to schedule games at this time of year.
On one hand, it’s great for fans who want to either attend those games or get together with family and friends to watch from the couch. On the other hand, many people probably would be caught up in getting food ready and scheduling times to play some board games.
All that being said, the Colorado Avalanche did recently have some fun, as evidenced by a picture their social media team published onto X, with some of the team’s players wearing what some would call “ugly sweaters.” An iconic part of the video comes in at the 36-second mark. It features all-world defenseman Cale Makar sitting on the leg of Miles Wood.
During Christmas, I’m sure there must be some players who get together, maybe even with their entire families. That’s the type of bonding that I’d love to see for a team. The Colorado Avalanche have had some injured players which forced some new players in the rink this season, and Christmas time might be a good time to build up some chemistry off the ice if they so choose to.
The NHL also has a “Holiday Freeze,” which I wrote about recently. You can check it out here.