Do away players seriously party all night when they are in Las Vegas?

Jets2point0

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Oct 14, 2017
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Seeing how young the league is now, most of the best hockey players in the world aren’t even good enough to drink in Vegas yet
 

Helistin

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Aug 12, 2006
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Think teams should consider making it mandatory to have the wives come along for Vegas road trips to keep an eye on their husbands. If the player has no wife/girlfriend then the mom.
 
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Cotton

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May 13, 2013
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They pump pure oxygen into their dressing room like some casinos do to ward off fatigue, and leave the visiting teams room filled with horrible stinky regular oxygen.
 
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Jun 16, 2008
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Blighty
For Eastern teams it's just one trip a year so I doubt it will.

I still skeptical that it would make a big difference in the bigger picture.

Players that party the most will find something to do no matter where they are. If it becomes a problem with how they're playing then generally at that point I'd think the team's brass would probably step in.
 

JoVel

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I still skeptical that it would make a big difference in the bigger picture.

Players that party the most will find something to do no matter where they are. If it becomes a problem with how they're playing then generally at that point I'd think the team's brass would probably step in.
FWIW, when Tampa had their trip to Vegas someone on Tampa's board said they had seen Stamkos and Kucherov partying. "They were so drunk they could barely walk" I believe is what he said. But it's a random poster on HF so I wouldn't put that much stock into it.
 

MrClutch86

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Aug 23, 2013
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FWIW, when Tampa had their trip to Vegas someone on Tampa's board said they had seen Stamkos and Kucherov partying. "They were so drunk they could barely walk" I believe is what he said. But it's a random poster on HF so I wouldn't put that much stock into it.
We also had Johnson and Dotchin out with the "flu" so yeah, safe to say some teams party in Vegas
 
Jun 16, 2008
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Blighty
FWIW, when Tampa had their trip to Vegas someone on Tampa's board said they had seen Stamkos and Kucherov partying. "They were so drunk they could barely walk" I believe is what he said. But it's a random poster on HF so I wouldn't put that much stock into it.

If true, I can't really judge them considering Malkin actually managed to miss a game in Florida due to a sunburn of all things.
 

General Disarray

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Jul 21, 2016
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I feel like most of Vegas home losses occur when the opponent is on a back to back (thus, not having time to settle into the city before the game)
 

JianYang

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Sep 29, 2017
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Its a factor, but it's too simplistic to attribute everything to the city itself as a reason for vegas' success.

Montreal, for example, has temptations, but players also regard the bell centre as an exciting place to play, which gets juices flowing.... So which variable is more prevailing?

Colorado has the altitude advantage, but when they suck, it doesn't seem to matter.

Vegas is a good team, period, and it helps to play in Vegas, from the standpoint that I assume alot of teams will likely circle their calendar for team events such as rookie dinners in place like Vegas.... Which can easily turn into something else. But like I said, those variables only matter if Vegas is good, otherwise, I don't think they can exploit it well.
 

talkinaway

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Mar 19, 2014
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Aside form the NHL Awards, Vegas is probably new to most NHL players. Maybe a few have gone there on vacation, but most probably barely have enough time in the off season to get home. I don't think it's the "party city" issue as much as it is the novelty issue - the NHL has quite a few cities with a vibrant nightlife.

Looking at the Bruins schedule, we had a back-to-back very early in the season over the weekend: Arizona on Saturday, Vegas on Sunday. Players aren't necessarily going to party EVERY night, but if they are going to go out and have a few drinks at some point in their trip, are they going do it in Glendale, or Vegas?

And, if you're a vet and you're going to allot yourself 1-2 "party nights" per month, are you going to do it in LA, Toronto, or New York, where you've presumably been stationed several times before, or are you going to check out Vegas?

The novelty also has another issue: unfamiliar surroundings. There are no vets who were traded from Vegas who know about cool places for dinner that only a local would know. There may not even be more than one or two people on the team who've even BEEN to Vegas before. When the Bruins roll into Buffalo, I'm sure they know their hotel, know where the good restaurants are, etc. Vegas? There's so many touristy options for food and entertainment, I imagine it might be a little overwhelming.
 

Flukeshot

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It sounds stupid, but what other explanation is there for the Golden Knights amazing home record?

With such a large expansion fee Vegas was guaranteed a home win from each visiting team in their first season... I can't think of anything else that can explain how good they've been at home.
 

Bizz

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Oct 17, 2007
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The Golden Knights record is the way it is because the Refs have been handing them victories. Period.
 

HaNotsri

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Dec 29, 2013
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By that logic, shouldn't Winnipeg have the worst record in the league? Nothing for opponents to do except practise and go to sleep
When the players are alone at the hotel they lose all their Chi for some reason...
 

hangman005

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Apr 19, 2015
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FWIW, when Tampa had their trip to Vegas someone on Tampa's board said they had seen Stamkos and Kucherov partying. "They were so drunk they could barely walk" I believe is what he said. But it's a random poster on HF so I wouldn't put that much stock into it.

Didn't Tampa play in Glendale the night before the game?

But the thing everybody is missing is that Vegas pays strippers to bust into opposing teams hotel rooms at 4 in the morning and have coke filled orgies, which is why they then suck during the game. Vegas being surprisingly good at hockey has 0 to do with it.... Oh and the refs give us 50 penalty shots a game... no way is it just playing better than the opposing team... that's just crazy talk.
 

HanSolo

DJ Crazy Times
Apr 7, 2008
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Las Vegas
I can tell you've never been to Vegas.

The novelty does not wear off. I've been to Vegas 8 times. And I'm not a multimillionaire. If I was Vegas would be 10000x more fun.
I live in Vegas. The novelty absolutely wears off. And these are professional athletes whose contract raises or reductions pay for their performance. And generally speaking, players want to win. This crackpot theory is one of the most presumptous and absurd I've read in a decade on this site.
 

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