The yearly NHL Awards show is somewhere between the Golden Globes and the Dundies on the yearly awards circuit. It’s hard to put on a sports awards show as a television event without a supreme level of awkwardness… unless you pour millions of dollars into it and make it all about celebrity, like ESPN has done to the ESPYs. Athletes and awards shows just don’t mix, which is why Hollywood types with that veteran award show experience are often brought in to carry the evening.
Unfortunately for the NHL, the best they could do on Wednesday night was Cuba Gooding Jr, who was apparently under the influence of something, and it probably wasn’t NHL Awards fever. Is Cuba Gooding Jr. really the best celebrity fan the NHL has? Jerry Maguire was 18 years ago! Was Dave Coulier unavailable?
Puck Daddy put together the highlights, and there are plenty. Included in the highlights are random fits of yelling about players, several failed attempts to hype up the crowd, a really awkward pass at Andrew Ference’s wife, and a double stuff Oreo joke. Right when Cuba starts rubbing Mark Messier’s bald head is when things officially get weird..
I’ll give it to Cuba and the NHL Awards show for this, that was a whole lot more interesting than anything I’ve seen at the ESPYs for years.
